The song of her heart
by Elderfire1
Summary: She ignored him as best she could, insulting him, outright ignoring him and even threatening him with violence a couple times. She knew what he was after with her. She knew he was just like the others that had come before. So upon another terrible attempt at flirting, she made her feelings known. What she hadn't expected was his reaction and how much it made her hurt.
1. Wasted time

_**EDITED**_

The song of her heart

Chapter 1

"Jaune..." Weiss sighed, observing the man who was down on one knee with flowers in hand and a rather annoyingly confident grin on his far more annoying face. This fool who consistently made it his mission to attempt to court her to the best of his ability, which was next to none, had decided to do it again. In the cafeteria. In front of everyone. Including a giggling Ruby, a booked centred Blake and a smirking Yang.

Her lunch had been going rather smoothly, having ordered a light salad with pieces of tender cooked chicken at the side and a mild chutney to dip it into, she had made great progress on an assignment that was due in 2 weeks time. She had just made it past the halfway marker of her paper (which had been assigned yesterday mind you) when she felt a rather unpleasant presence making It's way towards her. Looking sideways, a bouquet of white roses were thrust into her face. The thruster of the flowers voice saying in a way he assumed was charming "Good morning Snow Angel, how's the most beautiful girl in all the kingdoms?"

The dolt clearly thought he was being charming going off of how large his grin was as he knelt down on one knee. It was almost painful how awkward he looked, it might have been comparible to a poor theatrical play if he didn't look so... underwhelming was the nicest words she could think to use to describe him. Then again, he didn't quite deserve her kind words after all the trouble he ahd given her.

She had grown rather tired of his constant advances and poor courtship, to the point she had openly become infuriated with him. Why didn't this fool seem to get it? He was just another suitor after her money and/or power. Just another fool thinking he could earn her love and body through cheap tricks and charms that he didn't even mean. He hadn't even _tried_ to look nice for his attempt at wooing her. Wearing that childish hoodie with the rabbit across the front, blatantly shouting out to the world that he had the mental maturity of a child. Along with a pair of tarnished blue jeans that clearly needed to be replaced, his "outfit" was completed via a pair of dirty, black sneakers that squeaked as they moved about due to his awkward kneeling.

His mess of blond hair, that clearly hadn't been tamed since he had awoken this morning, was an affront to how meticulously she cared for her own hair. The only thing Weiss noticed that gave him even the notion of trying was that he had clearly put on some form of cologne, it was a rather nice scent if she was a completely honest with herself.

But still. She had, had enough of this. This fool needed to be shown that no amount of sugar coated, half arsed comments from someone who's only inclination to be this frustratingly adamant to make her his, was that he was desperate to increase his families fallen status. Everyone else had always only wanted her for their or their families agenda, so what else could Arc be after? Love? Hah. That was so ridiculous it almost made her laugh.

"I have tried to be as pleasant as I could with you. Yes I may have acted _strongly_ towards some of your more... aggravating advances" she started, trying as best she could to hold in her annoyance as he gently lowered the flowers to his side and looked up at her with his continuingly smug face. Cobalt blue eyes, devoid of any form of class or intelligence, staring into her own. "But I have had enough" she sternly added, standing up and crossing her arms as she stared down at him. Only at this did his smile falter, his eyes turning dull for a second before he regained his composure and gently placed the flowers down upon the ground and placed his full attention upon her, waiting patiently for her to finish, eyes staring intensely. It honestly took her by surprise, but she was a woman on a mission. "I have lived my life being fawned over by armies of suitors that did all they could. They all did better jobs than you. They dressed better, flirted better, their words were the finest and most romantic pieces that their servants could think of. But there is one thing that you and they have in common" she practically hissed, she could feel the tension in the room growing to the point of exploding.

"Weiss..." She heard Ruby nervously start before a quick glare from the heiress shut her up. Yang of all people looked mildly annoyed with her but she also looked worried for what she was about to say. Blake looked impassive, head in a book, but Weiss saw those golden eyes dart between herself and the fool before her.

"All you and those boys before you are after is my money, my influence, my body or even all three. You clearly don't love or even like me in a romantic way. What man would do all of _this_ foolish behaviour after constant rejection unless they were trying too woo me for reasons other than love. Whether it is your families or your own agenda, I want you to know that you will _never_ have me as I am far too tired of foolish men who don't love me for me. Not my name" she spoke all too clearly for Jaune's ears to hear.

She had expected many reactions from Jaune in that moment. To laugh and ask her to not joke like that and respond with another terrible flirt. To get up and storm out in a rage at having his plans foiled. Even to simply stay there, frozen like a statue, unable to comprehend her words.

What he did do though... it shocked her to her very core.

His eyes looked down and for the first time since their meeting that morning his lips dropped from a grin to a simple half hearted smile, lowering his head gently as he moved his hand to grab the flowers again he raised his tall body up, to the point he towered over Weiss's small figure. Forcing her to look up at him.

His eyes that had, despite still lacking what she had noticed earlier, always had a certain spark in them. Full of life and determination. Now though, they were dull. With a sigh he looked at her with those sad eyes and barely a whisper of a smile. He raised a hand to his neck and rubbed it in a way that showed he was uncomfortable to all the people in the room.

"To be honest with you Weiss" he stated, his usually slightly squeaky voice was now calm and purposeful. "If that's what you thought I was after, if you thought so little of me to think I was _that_ shallow... then I guess I was wasting my time trying to be with you" a single tear falling down his cheek, ice blue eyes followed it as a deep *bathump* sounded in her chest... a small ache beginning to form that made her want to wipe it away, to be rid of it mere seconds after it had started. What was this feeling? Why was she feeling it? It... it didn't make any sense...

With a turn, he carefully placed the flowers upon a table and took out a letter that was in his pocket, putting it among the petals. Then he simply walked out of the silent room. His team, who had been sitting nearby, following a rather fearsome trio of glares, left with him.

Even after they left, the room was deathly silent. Weiss stood there, beyond shocked as she watched the door he had left by even as it stopped moving and she could no longer see him through the glass windows along the walls. She couldn't comprehend what had just happened. It just didn't make sense. None of this made sense. Yes she could have said it kinder, yes she could have taken into account the amount of people that had watched her publicly tell Jaune he was someone who only went after her for material or social gain. But that was what he was right? Every other man in her life had been so, what made him any different?

There was one thing she couldn't deny though. His words and his face had struck a chord in her heart. He looked so... sad. As If his whole world had just been torn down with her words alone. Those eyes of his seemed so tired. Not tired from lack of sleep, no. They looked tired with the world.

Then there was the matter of his words. _If that's what you thought I was after, if you thought so little of me to think I was_ that _shallow._ That had gotten her to stop as she had planned to rebuke his words as he started, she hadn't thought what he said would cause those words to get caught in her throat as my his own made it to her ears.

 _Then I guess I was wasting my time trying to be with you_

How dare he. How dare he say that and pretend he actually cared for her. He couldn't. No boy ever could because all they ever saw was a name. That was true wasn't it? Wasn't Jaune just like the others?

Her trained mind told her of course he was, that act was all just a rouse to get her to feel sorry for him. To get her to chase after him and beg him to forgive her, that she would gladly go out with him.

Her heart though. It was only saying one thing. If he truly didn't actually care for her as a person, not even in the slightest, why did he look so sad and broken at her words? Why did he cry?

"Weiss?" the high voice of her partner and leader dragged her from those thoughts as she turned from the doors. Ruby was staring at her with a worried expression, a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should go? People are staring..."

Weiss looked at her, almost stupified as her mind slowly worked it's way back to the present.

Suddenly the world smashed back into place and all she could think was to get away from all the thoughts of Jaune. She didn't want to think of how calm yet pained he had seemed throughout the finish of their conversation. She didn't want to think of those words or the fact that she could see a small dark patch on the floor from his tear.

She ran from the room with Blake and Yang hot on her heels.

As the crowd watched the heiress ran from the room, no one noticed the flurry of rose petals that flew over to the table Jaune had left a pair of items on. They especially didn't notice that one was missing as the petals floated to the floor.

 **Well. That was something. This is my first story and to be honest this was completed in a couple hours of planning and work. Criticism is welcome and practically asked for so long as it's actually constructive. Won't lie I'm really nervous, as I usually just draw for authors stories but I wanted to get my own story out there.**

 **I don't plan on making Weiss a bad person throughout the story, I just needed a way to get Jaune to stop going after her that sorta made sense :)**

 **There will be some comedy and other happy things down the line, I don't plan on making this a 'boo hoo' fest that would just be boring XD**


	2. Annoying points

_**EDITED**_

The song of her heart

Chapter two

Annoyingly good points

She stormed through the halls of her school. Uncaring of passers by, uncaring that they stared and whispered as she glared furiously at nothing particular, Weiss was just angry. She wasn't honestly sure what she was angry at though, if she were to be honest with herself. Her mind told her she was angry at _him_ for making her feel like this. But it also told her that, that wasn't quite true but wasn't able to give her an actual answer as to why she was truly angry, she didn't stop to ponder though. For now she just wanted to be angry and furious and down right enraged at everything around her.

Charging through the last hall that led to her destination, she tore her scroll out of one of the many hidden pockets in her combat skirt and practically smashed it against the reader. With a ping the door opened and she stormed in, the door almost slamming shut in her teams' faces as they followed close behind but was stopped thanks to a forceful slam of Yang's palm which may have made her jump if her mind wasn't a storm of emotions she didn't want to feel.

She took position in front of her desk, smashing her hands down onto the cold, wooden surface in an over dramatic manner. She could feel it. The orchestra was beginning to ramp up its' song, crashing against its' bone theatre, a thunderous boom that could shake the very heavens and could be felt through the pale walls that encased them. It was becoming frantic, excited and overwhelming. It was becoming too much, the song hurt her. It made her tears want to fall. It made her want to just scream and let out their song to the world in the only way she could. But she couldn't, their song was hers and hers alone to suffer through.

With a forcefully steady breath, the orchestra slowly began to return to a somewhat normal pace, playing to the two step beat they had been playing since her birth.

While they _did_ indeed slow down, they were still far faster the usual. It was just a more manageable tempo now.

* * *

"Mind explaining what happened there, Ice queen?" Yang questioned, she was angry with Weiss and wanted nothing more than to chew her out, but she had to know what had _exactly_ happened there. That was just... plain mean.. poor guy looked like he'd just had his heart torn out. She knew he could be a little annoying with his constant advances on her, but hell. Just because the guy didn't know when to quit didn't mean he deserved being told he was a leech trying to get into her pants. Yang could tell the guy was too... she was gonna go with 'innocent' because anything else would be insulting. The last thing she'd want is for her crush to treat her like that... "Not exactly like _you_ to run away from stuff like that, especially when it concerns Vomit-Boy"

* * *

"I-I didn't run away!" She squeaked, the tempo briefly rising before beginning to settle again at the mention of his unwanted nickname. "I made an exit is all! I couldn't stand the looks they were all giving me!"

"Hardly surprising" Blake intervened, her book gently closed and at her side. "That wasn't exactly the most subtle or gentle of ways to say no to Jaune"

 _Jaune_

The use of his actual name brought back his face, looking so... not like him. As if he were an imperfect copy of the original, from a distance he looked the same, but if someone were as close to him as she had been, they would have seen the differences.

Those bright eyes were now dull and faded, that foolish smile was replaced with what she could only describe as a poor imitation of one. Half arsed and badly done, he honestly didn't seem to try and pretend it wasn't.

In general he looked like someone had taken a picture of him and drained all the saturation and diluted the colour. He was Jaune. But not the Jaune he had been no more than five minutes prior.

"Sorry Weiss..." Ruby barely whispered, appearing behind her sister and friend with an apologetic look on her sweet, young face. "You know you're my best friend in the whole world-"

"Hey!" Yang interrupted, raising an eyebrow at her only to be given a brief "sorry" before going to back to being in the background of the little reaper's thoughts.

"But... you were... kinda... mean to Jaune there. Like you _can_ be mean sometimes... especially to him... a lot" noticing the stiffening in Weiss's back, she quickly moved on from her rambling to make her point before the Heiress could respond. "But today, you were _really_ mean to him. He looked really sad when he left" she mumbled, her lip wobbling as she worried that she had made her partners mood far worse.

With a heavy sigh, Weiss stood to her full, though still quite short, height. Turning to look at her friends as she placed on the mask she had worn many a time throughout her life, one that had allowed her to deal with all the stresses and annoyances that came with being what she was and what her home life had been. She refused to let emotions that were bubbling just beneath the surface control her. What she _wanted_ was to scream and shout. To throw things about, and smash everything she could until these damn emotions she was feeling went away. She knew they wouldn't though. So on the mask went, to block out the sound of the orchestra that was threatening to crash though the pale walls that entombed them.

"I only did what was necessary" she said, composed and regal as she could be. "He was simply a hound dog and lecher who was after my name and money, you heard me say it and you saw he knew it as he left, clearly wanting to be followed, to be soothed and apologised to like a scolded child. That's clearly what he was after when he left in the way he did"

 _Liar_. The word came to the forefront of her mind. She had seen many a liar in her life. Too may to count. She knew a liar when she saw one. He wasn't... that was what the gentle notes laced with pain that the orchestra played, told her. But again her mind refused to accept this and being as she had learned to follow her mind throughout her life she refused to see it any other way. Emotions played no part when it came to something like this, if they did they only befuddled the mind and made people see things in ways that weren't true.

Jaune Arc was a liar and was after her for nothing but personal gain. Her mind refused to let her think of it in any other way.

 _Fool._

"Really now?" Yang cut in with a slight tang of aggravation in her voice. "Now I may not have been as close as you to a _certain_ someone but I'm fairly sure we all saw how he reacted?"

Blake nodded her head and Ruby lowered hers.

"He looked kinda weird... Like someone just took away his cookies, I know how sad that would make me" Ruby chimed in, answering her sisters question, shuddering at the thought of that happening to her.

"He looked broken" Blake put it simply.

"See what I mean?" The blonde questioned her, looking the Heiress dead in the eyes. "Look Weiss" she made her way forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving the platinum haired girl a sisterly smile. "I think we can all agree that you were over the top there, I mean COME! ON! Jaune? The resident walking, talking disaster? Besides Ruby of course"

"HEY!" Ruby squeaked loudly, hands balled into fists and wobbling at her sides. "I only blew up Weiss once. ONCE!"

"Do you honestly think _he_ could be smart enough to try and go out with you to get some extra mullah? Next you'll be saying he forged his transcripts to get in, Weiss-cream! Ow!" She yelped, rubbing her arm as Blake's elbow retracted from her partner.

"Not the time for puns, Yang" she scolded before facing Weiss properly, gently getting in front of Yang. The heiress looked ready to murder the brawler and it took all her willpower to not follow through with it. With her emotions in the state they were and her mask faltering for a second, she may have tried to. Yang had actually been making slight head-way to making Weiss listen to her. She had to agree that Jaune was no mastermind, the only time he had shown any kind of planning and forethought was in battle. She had a begrudging respect for his planning in combat. But then she had to ruin it with her childish puns.

Blake drew her attention with a quiet "ahem". Staring intently into her blue eyes with her golden-amber ones, Weiss focused her attention in her. Blake wasn't one to joke around and rarely spoke more than a few words unless she felt she needed to. Or fish was involved for some reason. Blake seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with the aquatic food.

"Weiss, I don't exactly know Jaune all that well, not too sure if I've had more than a few conversations with the man to be honest. But I know about the Arcs, the Schnee Dust Company may... control a lot of things around here. But the Arcs' are among the most renowned huntresses and hunters throughout history, they're among the most famous houses in living memory" she exclaimed, well exclaimed about as much as the monotone girl could.

"Are you forgetting that their fame has diminished by a sever margin ever since the war ended?" Weiss retorted, her logical mind refusing to admit it was wrong in any sense of the word.

"But it still holds weight" she bluntly put, not giving Weiss the option to counter-attack she went straight back to her point. "They also have far more money than most people, not as much as you bearing in mind, their family has hundreds of years of Lien built up from their exploits"

"People always want more. I should know" the reply was weak, even Weiss knew it herself. Blake clearly knew it to as she sighed at her.

"Look, all I'm going to say is that you judged Jaune for the actions of others, I've seen it happen to the Faunus too often" she sighed, clearly upset about that, they all knew Blake had strong opinions of the actions against Faunus by hate groups and corporate companies. She had, had a few arguments with Weiss about it. She could, begrudgingly, admit that she respected the girl standing by her values, which is why she held back the snort at her words. "I'm not going to try and change your mind about this, we both know that won't happen any time soon, but try not to judge him just because you've had bad experiences in the past with guys... I should know, I... have an ex who i thought was a good person but ended up proving he was the opposite. But I won't let him colour my opinions of others... he won't darken my light. Just, please don't let your past define you" she smiled, moving out of the way to let a nervous looking leader come through to face her

The orchestra was gently beating out it's two step tempo, but it was sending out notes she didn't like. Their words made sense. She refused to openly admit it, but they made good points. She had come to expect this from them, despite not knowing the for too long. While she was still on the rope with Yang, she occasionally showed a side she could respect and Blake was smart and blunt when it came to opinions and Weiss respected that, she could even call her a friend in some cases. But Ruby was someone she could definitely consider a friend. After Port and Ozpin had spoken to them individually, they had come to an agreement to try to understand each other better and had become fast friends.

"Ummmm hi" she awkwardly smiled, receiving a raised eyebrow from the Heiress. "Soooo... I gotta be honest Weiss. You're my friend, best friend, because of course we're best friends! I knew we would be besties ever since you didn't just turn away an pretend you hadn't seen me when we selected partners like I thought you might! Ignore that last part" Weiss couldn't help but let a ghost of a smile cross her blank face at her partners antics. "But Jaune's also my friend" the smile dropped. "You were really mean to him Weiss, he's a really nice guy! He was my first friend at Beacon and was willing to just be goofy with me and have fun! Just... even if you don't believe us... I just can't think of him as that kinda guy..."

Her head dropped down and she looked up at her with those sad silver eyes in a puppy dog look.

"URGH!" Weiss yelled, her mask being forced down by her team making some strong points. Damn annoying strong points at that. "What do you want me to do? Apologise? Say I'm sorry for _possibly_ misjudging him? For telling him he was just like those other fools who tried to basically rob me and steal off my family name!?"

"YES!" They all replied at once, with grins on their faces.

"Uuuuurgh... FINE!" She yelled, pinching the bridge of her nose in defeat, letting her shoulders slump and dropping into the chair behind her. Letting it lean back slightly as she accepted her fate. Even if she didn't quite believe that his intentions were true herself. She had clearly upset Jaune, and to be honest, that upset her. She had seen that dull look in eyes before, she had seen it looking into a mirror. "Fine..."

"Yes!" Yang laughed, smacking Weiss on the back in joy. "Knew you weren't so bad after all, Ice Queen!"

"I am going to regret this..." She moaned, letting her head fall back and arms swing to the side in a dramatic show of annoyance at Yang's antics. "Okay. I shall make myself presentable and go over to apologise to Arc. No I will _not_ under any circumstances give any hint that I will _ever_ want to be with him romantically though. Just to be clear I am simply going to admit my words were a little too harsh and that I am sorry for saying them"

"That's all we ask" Blake smiled gently and Ruby giggled excitedly.

"YES! MY TWO BEST FRIENDS ARE GOING TO BE FR-"

A gentle knocking at the door, stopped Ruby in her tracks. Raising a questioning eyebrow, Yang opened the door to find a eerily calm Pyrrha Nikos staring at her.

"Hello again Yang" she smiled, offering her hand which was took with a slightly worried look from the blonde.

"Hello to you both as well" she greeted, Blake and Ruby who looked at her questioningly but offered smiles, Ruby's far larger naturally.

It was then Pyrrha turned to Weiss, her expression going slightly colder.

"Weiss?" She questioned, and the heiress stood up and offered a handshake of her own. Pyrrha looked at it for second, her smile faltering only briefly before she took it. "I believe we need to talk"

"I had assumed this was coming" she smiled back, feeling a notion of fear go down her spine. "I'm just glad you are the one who came and not Nora. I doubt our room would survive her wrath" the bureaucratic joke was responded to with an equally forced smile. But Pyrrha was Pyrrha. Weiss knew she would approach this calmly, she was the champion after all. She would wouldn't She?

 **Yep. Shit just hit the fan.**

 **Next chapter will be... revealing for Weiss That's all I'll say for now.** **I intend to add in little fun moments every now and then but the next chapter will have a more serious tone like the first. Hope you enjoy and I will see you all again very soon hopefully :)**

 **Oh and if anyone's confused, the orchestra is something I plan on doing with the story. It helps to better explain how Weiss is feeling and frankly comparing her heart to an orchestra sounds about right for everone's favourite Ice queen.**

 **Also that letter Jaune put on the table in the last chapter? That will be important. Trust me.**


	3. A realisation and a new beginning

_**EDITED**_

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 3**

 **A realisation and a new beginning**

15 minutes earlier

Jaune walked through the halls in silence. He wasn't quite sure why but the thought of even trying to talk right now or do anything remotely aside from walking with his head down, made him want to hurl. His head was full of thoughts that he didn't want there. All he wanted to do right now was get to his room and sit down. He wanted to break down but he couldn't. Not in front of them. Not in front of His team who were quickly becoming like a second family to him.

They were behind him right now. Nora making, what he hoped were, mock threats to break legs. Her excitable attitude and chipper approach to pretty much everything in life, it often brought laughs to them all... Despite having to deal with her deciding to cover herself in syrup and turn herself into a human pancake by rolling in a pile of the treats the other night. He tried to laugh at the memory of the twitch Ren had grown at the sight of her... yet nothing came of it... of course it didn't his luck was always on the bad side.

Ren being stoic and calm as he gently tried to get Nora to put down Magnhild. He always took anything life threw at him and just didn't let it bother him. He didn't speak much but when he did it was always usually either wise or helpful, Jaune had often thought his personality would fit better in an old man. He never said this to him, would be kinda mean to openly call him old. No, if anything, Jaune saw him as the brother he never had but always wanted. Right now he really wanted to go to him, ask him what to do, what he could possibly do to make this ache go away... but his damn pride stopped him... he hated it, but it did.

Pyrrha was fussing over him as usual, holding his shoulder in an attempt to console him and trying to be as encouraging as she could. She was always so nice to him, doing her best to make him happy. Despite her fame she had never let it go to her head and was just a down to earth and sweet girl. She reminded him of his sister's a lot in this sense. He loved all their personalities and quirks, they all brought joy to his life and to a lot of others as well. Another reason he refused to cry right now. He would just do what he did best. Lie his ass off and pretend he was okay, for their sake. By his word as an Arc, he refused to ever make them sad by dumping his worries on them.

A gentle "ahem" and he was thrust out of his thoughts to find he has been stood in front of his room for what he assumed was a fair amount of time. Throwing an apologetic smile at them, he grabbed his scroll from his pocket and laid it flat against the reader. An audible click and the door was open.

To be fair to Jaune, he was frankly amazed that a certain friend had kept their innate nature in check this long, so he was at least prepared when Nora grabbed him a bridal style hold and dragged him into the room. Followed closely by a worried looking Pyrrha and an exasperated Ren.

"JAUNE! ARE YOU ALIVE!?" She hollered, dumping him onto his bed and knocked on his head. "IF YOU'RE NOT AND YOU TURN INTO A ZOMBIE, CAN I KEEP YOU AS A PET!?"

A firm grasp on her collar and a more than annoyed sigh from the ninja in green and Nora was flung onto her bed and held in place by a stern look from Ren. "Sorry Jaune" he apologised to him with a rare show of emotion in the form of a smile. "She's just worrying about you... in her own way"

That sparked some reaction in Jaune. The last thing he wanted was for them to worry about him. So he put his plan into action.

Putting on the goofiest smile he had ever mustered, he grinned at them like he hadn't a care in the world. Taking his time to make sure they all got a good luck at that smile. "I'm fine guys!" He laughed, standing up dramatically and doing a little walk about as he continued. "Look! See, fine! What's a little rejection aye? I mean _come on,_ She's rejected me plenty of times! But hey if she thinks _that's_ what I'm after then to heck with her! I'll find some other girl that makes the beauty of the rising Sun look like a match in well lit room. That makes me feel warm inside to be near her and makes all my problems fade away with just a smile! A girl so graceful that when she fights, it's like watching an elegant dance! A girl I lo-" his breath caught in his throat for the briefest of seconds before he bounced right back. "Anyway! I'm fine! Ooo look at the time, I think I'll go for a walk! Y'know, catch that afternoon breeze!" He made for the door but an armoured and gentle hand stopped him.

Before she could speak, a loud slamming open of a door caught their attention. It was clear that team RWBY were back, and from the sound of it, things were not good on their front either.

"Mind explaining what happened back there, Ice queen?" Yang's voice hollered before being cut off by the closing of a door much more gently, almost a whisper compared to the violent slam.

Weiss was clearly angry. Something that made Jaune openly shudder... Weiss being angry never ended well for him. It always ended with her being harsher than usual to him, even when he wasn't trying to flirt with her. No one ever wanted to get on the bad side of an angry Weiss Schnee.

... why? Why did she have to say it? He... he wasn't like that, right? He _did_ care about who she was outside of her name. He didn't care about money or fame when it came to her, her body was something that only she had the right to decide who she gave it to... so why did he feel such _anger_ at himself right now?

"Jaune" Pyrrah smiled, a caring look in her eyes. "Are you okay? I know you say you are but... you're... a terrible liar"

His smile turned gentle and he placed his hand on her shoulder. There was the Pyrrha he knew... ways caring and loving towards him to the point where, give her a blonde wig and blue eye contacts and he may have thought she was another, secret, eighth sister. "I'm okay, Pyrrha. Even if I wasn't... I would be with time" the smile turned sad for only a moment. "She clearly wasn't the girl for me after all, is all"

She didn't believe him, it was obvious, and from the looks he was getting from Ren and Nora, they didn't either. But they were his team. He knew they would leave him alone if they felt he wanted to be.

"I'll see you all later, okay?" they all nodded at him. "Oh and Pyrrha? Would you mind telling... Weiss... that she doesn't need to worry about me coming after her anymore? Guess I can do one thing right today, huh?" he laughed awkwardly but didn't wait for a reply, instead he simply opened and left through the door, closing it gently.

* * *

What followed was a few moments of silence before the inevitable happened.

"Can I _please_ break her legs?" Nora begged, holding Magnhild like a puppy she wanted to just let loose. "I've never seen our valiant leader look so mopey!"

"Sure" Ren replied. "But" Nora stopped in her tracks, hammer in one hand and the door handle in the other. "Are you okay with being expelled? Hurting someone who, despite circumstances, doesn't deserve it? With hurting the rest of her team emotionally?"

With an obvious amount of strain, Nora lowered both her hands and put Her hammer against the wall as she slumped down onto the floor grumpily. "No..."

"Good, now get your plate, while Pyrrha talks to Weiss, I'll make pancakes as a reward for behaving" he told her and she immediately became her usual, hyper, self again. Dashing to her bed to retrieve her 'plate of pancakes' as she called it.

* * *

Taking to her own role, Pyrrha left the room herself and made her way across the hall to hear Ruby start shouting something at the top of her lungs

She stopped the second Pyrrha knocked her knuckles against the door though. It opened to reveal a confused looking Yang, staring at her like she was standing there, stark naked. She was quite certain there was a certain someone who wouldn't appreciate such a thing if her eye was right.

"Hello again Yang" she smiled at her, if she were being honest, it wasn't her best attempt and probably came off as a bit annoyed. In an attempt to try and smooth over her terrible smile, she offered her hand for a shake and it was taken rather gingerly.

Looking over the brawlers shoulder, she spotted the equally confused Blake and Ruby looking at her. Giving them what she saw as a better smile than the one she had given Yang, she hoped her utter and complete fury at Weiss didn't show... her disgust for the girl who had dared to talk to Jaune in such a way.

She had no right to speak to him about caring and love when Jaune was an open book and a bleeding heart. While she hated to say anything bad about him, Jaune was... a simple soul. He couldn't come up with elbarot plans outside of combat and certainly not to try and woo the Heiress, any love he felt was true and complete, to claim he didn't care about her? That... that was utter and complete nonsense. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a amall amount of pride in the way fear flickered over those icy eyes at the sight of her. "Hello to you both as well" Blake offered a small smile but Ruby gave her usual, massive smile.

Turning, she found Weiss staring at her like she expected to be attacked any second. Did she truly think Pyrrha would harm her?

For once in her life, Pyrrha had to remind herself of just who she was, that she was at heart a good person who refused to allow petty anger take control of her... that was what she had to focus on when she looked at the girl.

"Weiss?" She questioned, the Heiress stood up and offered a hand almost too politely. This confused Pyrrha for a second but she took it in earnest, forcing down the anger to try and do what Jaune had asked of her, he was too good a soul sometimes, especially for his own good. "I believe we need to talk"

With a sigh the Heiress looked up at her, a twinge of nervousness in her eyes as Pyrrha looked down at her. "I had assumed this was coming" her nervousness turned to relief as she seemed to relax slightly. "I'm just glad you are the one who came and not Nora. I doubt our room would survive her wrath" She joked and Pyrrha had to force a laugh, Weiss had no idea how close she had come to having to deal with that.

Leaving the room, they walked in silence for a time. Pyrrha was trying to think of the best way to put what Jaune wanted her to say. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Telling the woman who had just crushed her crushes heart like an insect, that he was over her in a way that didn't sound either spiteful or excited.

"So..." she began, causing Weiss to jump slightly as she did.

Regaining her posture, Weiss replied "So"

"I... have a message from Jaune"

"Heh... look" Weiss stopped, looking Pyrrha dead in the eyes. "I wanted to apologise to Jaune alright? My team may have _convinced_ me that my words may have been harsher than deserved. While I still don't trust his intentions, I do believe he is owed at least a "sorry" from me as I did seem to rather upset him deeply"

Pyrrha was happy to hear this, to know that Jaune may cheer up sooner than expected due to an apology from Weiss. But then the words sunk in. Seven words to be honest. Then Pyrrha decided to make her opinion on the situation known.

"You know, Weiss, you did exactly what you're accusing Jaune of when you met me right?" she stated matter-of-factly. "I remember how you were to me in the locker room on the day we would select our partners. Not caring for the girl in front of you, or caring that I was more than just a mascot for a cereal and a four time champion. That was _all_ you saw. You weren't interested in getting to know me, all you wanted to do was get a strong partner that would make you renowned throughout the entirety of the Beacon and make your life easier. To be honest I thought the same thing of you then, that you think of Jaune now. Just another person, here to meet the invincible girl and use me to benefit yourself.. You only wanted to be with me to further your own goals and you know it"

Stopping for a brief moment, she noticed the Heiress wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead she was looking at the ground beneath her, in a look of disbelief and shame. The want to laugh and tell her that she deserved to feel like this was monumental yet she somehow found the will to carry on with her original train of thought.

"But still. I gave you a chance. I decided to see if you would even bother to try and become an actual friend of mine. After the selection and after things settled down, you did try. While I wouldn't call us best friends, I like to think we are friends at least. Do you see what I'm saying Weiss?" She kindly said, placing hand on her shoulder, encouragingly.

 _Anger has no place here... I... I need to put Jaune first and let go of this petty anger... but mark my words, Weiss Schnee. If you hurt him again? I'll make you suffer._

Looking up at the Spartan, Pyrrha noticed a faint glimmer of what was clearly regret on her face.

* * *

Pyrrha's words, while not meaning to, had hurt. She was right. She had treated Pyrrha as only an asset when they first met. Desperate to gain the most powerful partner, as a way of gaining an early advantage on the others and to appease her father. It would have been inappropriate for a Schnee to have no one but the best for a partner. She didn't honestly give the slightest damn about who she was as a person. She was as friendly as she had to be, and was doing her best to butter Pyrrha up to become her partner.

Had Weiss truly been so heartless? Of course she could be. She was a Schnee after all. They were masters of the art at being heartless.

"I think I do" she nodded, raising her head yet again to look up at the smiling woman in front her.

"The thing is though..." Pyrrha began again. "I am incredibly well known among hunters and huntresses and have my own sponsorships and a large amount of wealth from them and my own achievements. I am also more... gentle with my words and less experienced with the ways of suitors coming after me, so I may have actually fallen for their tricks. So if Jaune was truly after what you say he is, then wouldn't he have gone for me and not you? Would he have tried so hard to get you to like him if he didn't, at the time, truly care for you? Jaune is a good person who doesn't see titles or money when he meets a person. That means nothing to him, what he cares about is their personality, what makes them, them. How they act toward others and situations. He sees a person in you. Not an Heiress. Or a pile of money. That's why he liked you. I'm not going to pretend you don't have your reasons for distrusting anyone that shows any interest in you, but I'm begging you to try and trust that what Jaune felt was true"

Weiss was forced to agree with her words. They made a lot more sense than her teammates had, and they actually made her feel worse than before. Before she just wished she had chosen better words to tell Jaune no again. Now she felt terrible for throwing Jaune in with the rest of the terrible men in her life without a second thought. While she by no means liked him suddenly, Weiss did regret how badly she had treated him for simply liking her as a person. It was oddly refreshing to know she could be liked for herself.

It was then Weiss's turn for the words to click in her head. Three words to be exact, separated but all carrying the same message to her.

"Wait. What do you mean 'felt?'"

 _ **Somewhere in one of the gardens of Beacon**_

Jaune sat in the grass, under a large tree. Letting the wind gently blow through his mess of blonde hair. He was a lot calmer than before. By no means was he okay, he wouldn't be for a _long_ time, but he was at least calmer. He felt hot tears flowing down his face but didn't bother to try and stop. Sometimes a person just needed a good cry.

He now faced a world without a goal besides being a hunter and making his family proud. Weiss had been his goal. To get her to realise just how much he loved her. To get her to realise he didn't care about her title or money but he _did_ care for the girl underneath all that. But that goal was gone. She had seen to that herself. All she thought of him was that he was after everything he wasn't looking for in her. His goal had been destroyed as soon as the words left her mouth. It hurt. A lot. More than anything ever had before.

He had done the brave thing though, he got up, said words he did slightly regret if he were being honest, put the flowers and the stupid letter he had spent days writing on a table and just walked away without causing more of a scene than he already had.

He was an idiot who had fallen in love with someone who clearly would never love him back and he had to accept it. The tears began to flow heavier and he was forced to rub his eyes to get rid of them.

"Hello there!" Came a cherry voice with a charming accent. Turning, he spotted what could easily have been mistaken for a chocolate person. She was wearing a chocolate brown, long sleeved top that zipped up at the front and cut off just above her stomach which was covered by a skin tight, black undershirt. Upon her shoulders were golden, metal plates that seemed more for style than protection. A matching gold belt, sat at an angle across her waist, lay atop a pair of equally chocolatey coloured trousers that became hidden just after they started by a pair of thigh high, black boots with gold trimmings along the feet and the tops where they met her thighs. On her waist was what looked like fancy camera of sorts and honestly intrigued him almost as much as her most obvious feature. Upon the top of her head, that flowed with brown hair which cascaded down her back. Lying above a kind and gentle face that was gifted with a sweet smile and mocha eyes, was a pair of rabbit ears. "You alright there, love?"


	4. Life is like a box of chocolates

Chapter 4

Life is like a box of chocolates

"Huh?" was all Jaune could reply to the girl with the kind smile in front of him. She actually _smelt_ like chocolate and it was frankly making it harder for him to think of a good reply since he hadn't eaten for a while.

"Y'know, you looked a bit sad there, what kind of 2nd year would I be if I left another student to cry on his own?" She joked, her voice portraying a bit of nervousness as she spoke. Even Jaune, in his half dazed state, took notice of it.

Realising he was probably attracting attention with his crying, Jaune stood up quickly and rubbed his eyes thoroughly. The girl jumped slightly as he stood up, her arms raised in a half defensive stance as she stared at him.

"Hmmm? Nah, I'm not crying!" He laughed awkwardly, misinterpreting her stance as surprise at his height "Just allergies! I suffer with them bad! Should see me when I'm near a flower bed"

Relaxing slightly, the girl looked relieved but then a bit peeved as she stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Har, har, har" she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes with a smile. "Listen... erm?"

"... Oh! Jaune!"

"Right. Jaune, I know a sad face when I see one, I've seen plenty in my time so I'm kind of an expert" she was blunt with her answer, but her smooth and sweet accent made it seem a lot gentler. "So what's wrong? My name's Velvet by the way"

Brown eyes stared into his, unwavering and strong. Coupling that with an adorably cute pout and she just made him want to tell her everything, it was just so compelling. Was this what Yang had to deal with when Ruby wanted something? Oum help him.

"L-look" he began, straining to resist the cute. "I'm... Fi-fine ok-k-kay, so please don't worry" he breathed a sigh of relief as he got his words out. Reaching a hand to place it on her shoulder to further try and convince her.

She recoiled as his arm moved towards her, looking fairly scared as she did. She honestly looked like she expected him to try and hit her.

"H-hey!" He cried, immediately getting worried about her. "What's wrong? Are you okay? I'm _so_ sorry! I should have asked before I tried to put my hand on your shoulder! Please forgive me, I didn't know!" He pleaded, putting his hands together and raising them above his head in a form of apology.

Now it was Velvet's turn to give a confused "Huh?"

"W-well, I shoulda asked since all you're trying to be is nice to me... I feel really bad now" he rubbed the back of his head in shame.

"Wait. You were just trying to put your hand on my shoulder? Not... you know... trying to shove me away or pull my ears?" confusingly she stared at him like he was an enigma in time and space, almost as if he was something completely unheard of.

"Oooookay... why the heck would I do that?" he was just as confused as her at this point, probably more to be honest.

"S-sorry... I'm just nervous... people aren't usually very nice to me because I'm a _Faunus"_

"What?" he almost shouted in surprise, trying to lower his voice so as not to scare her again. "Are you serious? Just because you have bunny ears doesn't mean you're any less a person than me! Heck some of my best friends are Faunus back home, look!" He wrenched his scroll from his pocket and scrolled through the images to one he had been sent a little while ago by a friend.

What it showed honestly shocked Velvet.

On the screen was an image of three Faunus all huddled together and smiling at the screen brightly. One was a girl with olive skin and goat horns that rose up and gently curled slightly around her blonde hair, bright green eyes showed nothing but love and care towards the recipient of the photo. The second was a tall boy with grey hair that was spiked up and pulled back slightly in a more punk style. At first she was confused as to how he was a Faunus before she took a good look at his eyes and teeth. His eyes were canine in nature, with black skin around the edges and an unusual focus to them that a human could never achieve. His canines were more like fangs that looked ready to tear a raw steak to pieces, if it wasn't for the friendly demeanour his whole face practically threw at her, she may have thought he was a bit of a scary person. Third but not least was another girl with mousy brown hair and pale skin, clearly shorter than the rest as she seemed to be having to strain to be in the photo properly. Atop her head were a pair of mouse ears that were focused intently on the screen she had been facing. She looked so innocent and sweet that she could even rival the cuteness of that Ruby girl she had seen running about campus.

"That's Holly, Jack and Mia" Jaune smiled fondly, his past sadness forgotten at the pleasant memories of those three that had been practically his only friends other than his sister's back home. "Those guys are pretty much my best friends in the world. I haven't seen them in ages so they sent me this to remind me they hadn't forgotten about me and missed me"

"I'm so sorry" Velvet mumbled under her breath, looking away in shame as she judged this totally innocent and nice guy by the same standards as she did Cardin Winchester.

"Eh? For what? I know you guys get a bad rap just because you look slightly different, so you had the right to think I was gonna be mean to you but I promise I'm not" he smiled warmly at her.

"But I judged you! I didn't even bother to think you might be _this_ nice. I just saw a guy crying-"

"wasn't crying" he interrupted with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh! With "allergies" and I was worried about him. I was already talking to you when I realised you might not like my kind and was too nervous to even bother to think you may a nice per-" she stopped when he raised his hand in a plea for her to stop, she was going a mile a minute and it was making his head hurt.

"Look. I got judged pretty badly earlier by someone and it made me really upset" the bad memories were a back in full force, but he kept a straight face so as not to embarrass himself. "She judged me by the standards of others, though she did kinda have a reason like you, and made me feel terrible. You though? You clearly feel horrible about it and are trying your best to make it up to me. So frankly? I don't care, all I know is you seem like a really nice person who just got a little scared" he raised his hand, showing it to her clearly and gently placed it on her shoulder.

She visibly relaxed and returned his smile with one of her own, happy in knowing she hadn't upset him.

"Nice to know there are humans that won't judge me just because I look like this outside of my team" she grinned, thinking that maybe this guy could possibly be a new friend. She didn't have that many... mostly because of her being a Faunus, but also because of Coco... She could be _very_ scary when she wanted to be.

"Meh, anyone who thinks like that are dirt bags" he sighed, giving her a faint smile, turning his head to the noon day sun. This girl was really nice. He actually wasn't thinking about Weiss while he was talking to her, she just seemed to be able to make him smile. Maybe he could make a friend out of this Velvet girl. Be nice to have someone else he could trust.

"Pffffft!"

In surprise he cocked his head as Velvet began to giggle uncontrollably, holding her stomach as if she was scared it would burst as she did.

"I'm sooooorry!" She laughed, her eyes growing teary. "Oh raspberries! You looked like a bad action movie star when you put your head like that! Oh Mr Bond, please don't try and woo me!" She laughed harder, wiping her eyes to clear them so she could focus on the boy in front of her. "Hoo... Well That's one way to clear the air, sorry Jaune but thank you for making me laugh"

Staring incredulously at her, Jaune couldn't help but laugh as well, imagining himself with a grizzled face and a torn up suit. "No problem, you're helping me forget about my... allergies"

A rabbit ear cocked downwards as she stared at him again, her cheerful demeanour once again turning serious. "Look. I like to think we might be able to be..."

"Friends? Yeah I'd like to think you and me could be friends" he smiled and in return she turned her head and gave a shy smile.

"Right then. Then as your new friend, I must ask; what's wrong?"

"Not gonna let that one go are you?" he grimaced, placing a palm to his face. Great. There were those not-so-good thoughts again.

"Sorry" she replied. "I know what It's like to bottle up negative emotions, my er... Friend on my team is helping me gain some confidence in being open about my problems, so I thought I could help you"

He was defeated. The sincerity in her words. The adorably cute quiver in her lips she made while she waited for his answer. The fact she had been okay with being open about herself to him and cared for his well being. Just the general fact that this girl seemed to radiate the feeling of calm for Jaune. He felt the _need_ to tell her. Hell if It was going to tell someone, it may as well be someone he could get non bias thoughts from.

"Fine. But please, I'll only tell what I feel that I can, so don't try and pry for more?"

Her eyes sparkled as he relented, nodding furiously as she agreed to his terms.

He sat back down with a solid thump, patting beside him for her to sit.

As she did he let out a deep sigh. It wasn't going to be fun having to recall the exact moment he felt his chest hurt with a pain so fierce, he honestly thought he was having a heart attack.

"Heh... Have you ever been in love Velvet?" she looked at him curiously, unsure of how to answer such a question, she did notice that he had gained a certain pained look to his face.

"Ummm... yes, definitely"

"Felt like you just want to make them happy, to prove to them that they were your world?"

"That's what being in love _is,_ right?"

"Ever been told you're basically a monster by the person you love?"

That caught her off guard, her eyes going wide as she stared at him, his eyes were different. Still red and puffy from his tears, but now? Now they just seemed so dull. Like all the life had been drained from them.

"N-no"

"Damn. I was hoping you could offer some advice, hehe" he attempted a smile, but choked as a sudden sob nearly broke free. He flipped his head around so she wouldn't see, forcing his emotions back down in great effort. "The girl I love is rich, famous and utterly beautiful"

This struck a nerve with Velvet, surely Jaune wasn't _that_ kind of guy?

"But I don't care about any of that"

'Knew it' she thought proudly.

"What I do care about though? I love the way she carries herself, so proud and powerful like nothing can touch her. I love that she refuses to let her small stature get in the way of her taking on Grimm and people so much larger than herself. I love just how smart and worldly she is, I feel like she knows the answer to pretty much anything and could walk into any of those posh parties the rich have and just _rule._ I love how graceful she is in battle, It's almost like watching a dance rather than a fight. I actually even love her scar across her face, it's just a reflection of her. That she isn't just a cut and dry rich girl. That she has flaws but masters them. That she refuses to stay at home and be a little doll to be used as pleased. Yes, she is truly beautiful though. With eyes so intense and clear, I can look in them and imagine what heaven must look like. Her skin as pearlescent as fresh fallen snow but a heart full of burning passion. It's rare to see, but her smile can make my day no matter how bad. You know what I love most about her though? It's her voice. Oh Oum, her singing sets my heart on fire, I actually wrote her a song, I was going to invite her to listen to it today... But well. I didn't get the chance to even ask her" he felt a warm sensation role down his cheek.

"Jaune, you can stop if you-"

"She's been hounded her entire life by guys after her money, fame or... her body. Like all she is, is a trophy to them, that her happiness doesn't even matter. I imagine that after all that, you'd get pretty darn sick of it all" The Faunus girl watched as his fists clenched as the words left his mouth. "Apparently, not surprisingly though, she doesn't trust guys anymore. She thinks that every guy that shows interest in her is after all that the others before were. It's what she thinks I'm after. She said it herself" his heart hurt, oh it hurt so much. He felt like there was a million needles being pressed into it and it beat out a damaged and out of time tune. It hadn't ever been perfect, far from it. But now? It felt like someone had took an axe to the instruments, just keeping them together enough so that they could just about be played.

"B-But! You're so nice!" She squeaked, looking actually offended _for_ him.

"Am I?" he questioned, looking at her with dull, sad eyes. "I tried to make her happy, be a goofball and possibly even get a laugh out of her. But all I did was increase her pain, would a good person do that? Would a good person do things that clearly insanely annoy her and even make her angry to have to suffer through, thinking they were at least being slightly funny to her? Would a good person reinforce the idea that they can't be... _loved_ by anyone because of who she is?" the tears flowed freely and he didn't even try to stop. He openly wept, not caring for who saw him. The half arsed smile still there, but it was closer to a grimace than ever. "I never should of loved her in the first place"

"Excuse me?" came the angered voice of the rabbit girl beside him. Her face was red and her fists were shaking as she balled them up at sides. "How dare you. How dare you think so _little_ of yourself! Do you _honestly_ think that someone who could cry like _this_ over the pain you're clearly in, could be a bad person!? Could openly say how much they love someone and not just for their looks and be a bad person!? Could clearly be so heartbroken that the person they love seems to hate them!? Could look so... so... empty... I've known you for less than and hour Jaune, but I've already learned so much about you. None of those things make me think you're a bad person..." she started to cry herself, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry... Jaune, but I hate it when an _actually_ good person treats themselves so badly... you _are_ a good person Jaune. Please believe me"

Jaune wasn't quite sure how to react, this girl he had just met had gotten him to admit to his pain where his team had failed. Was it just because she was a new face that he doubted would actually become a friend? No he got the feeling that this girl would be involved in his life. So what was it then? It would be funny if her semblance was to make people more comfortable around her. No matter the reason, her words struck a chord in him. He felt a little bit of happiness that he could at least try and cheer her up

"Heh... I'm honestly not too sure if I _can,_ but I'll try. Least I can do for my new friend" he said, his eyes not so dull anymore as he smiled at her. His tears stopping as he spoke. She took notice of this and with a teary smile, she stood up and offered a hand to the boy. He took it and allowed Velvet to pull him to his feet, unsurprisingly she was far shorter than him, by a good few inches, though her ears put her at his height.

"That's a start at least" her smile was genuine, kind and sincere. "I know it may not seem it, but it _will_ get better, Jaune. You'll find someone that will love you as much as you deserve to be"

"Heh... thanks Velvet... I honestly don't feel as crappy right now" Jaune said honestly, feeling at least a small portion of the pain in his heart go a away. The instruments were slightly more in tune than they had been less than 10 minutes ago, their beat now far more smooth and gentle. As he smiled at the girl, she smiled back before a loud beeping on her phone, got her attention.

"Cheese and crackers! That's my team wondering where I am!" She squeaked, looking incredibly stressed out all of a sudden. Looking at Jaune, all he did was smile.

"Go, I'm sure they're worried about you, my team is probably worried about me as well"

"O-okay! Thanks Jaune! I'll see you around!" she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug, before running off towards the nearest door. Surprised by the physical contact, Jaune couldn't help but keep his smile even as she left. This time it was real. This one of those moments in life where he could allow himself to at least try and be happy.

 **A new song is playing. This one broken and sad. It has already been tuned. It can be repaired, but only by one who can hear it's song. Who knows, the owner of the song may just find the one to repair their melody in due time...**

 **Oh and yes, I can honestly picture Velvet getting like this in defence of friend, getting angry at them for putting themselves down. I know it may seem weird as to how fast Jaune trusted Velvet, and she him, but I'm basing this off of life experience and It's pretty much the same as this. Plus as Jaune himself says "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet"**

 **Hope you all enjoy this fairly long chapter :)**


	5. Life's also a bitch

**So sorry for the late update! Commissions have been mental and I haven't had much time to write!**

 **On the upside, I have had an idea for two, more cheerful stories to do alongside this one.**

 **1 is called pink lemonade in which Jaune saves the life of a certain multi coloured criminal and it leads him down a hilarious path of having to deal with an overcurious girl who doesn't seem to understand personal space. At all.**

 **2 The seven deadly tenants has our blonde protagonist become the landlord to several curious girls after he gets an job offer from a man who only refers to himself as 'Mr Oz'. He soon realises that these girls aren't normal people. Not normal at all. What has he got himself in to?**

 **I'll leave it up to you guys which story I do first. The second will begin after I finish my current story :)**

Chapter 5

Life's also a bitch

"Wait. What do you mean to 'felt'?" Weiss asked, her eyes growing wide as she stared incredulously at the flaming haired girl beside her.

"Oh!" She replied, remembering her initial reason for speaking to the Heiress. "That's part of the reason I came to see you. Jaune... he asked me to tell you that he will be stopping his attempts to become your boyfriend. While he said that he's just not in love with you anymore, that he'll find some other girl who can appreciate him for him..." she trailed off, not willing to look Weiss in the eyes, sparking the girls curiosity.

"But?" She questioned, moving closer towards her and leaning forward. Moving in a way so as to force Pyrrha's eyes on her.

With a sigh, she gave in, nodding at Weiss in defeat. "But. I personally think he is doing this for you _and_ himself. You because he cares deeply about your happiness, he would rather stop and just give up trying to become your boyfriend than continue to upset you, I think he may have realised that he _was_ upsetting you. Him because... I don't think he could handle the pain of what you said to him. Jaune is a kind person, you calling him what you did would upset anyone but _Jaune?_ I imagine it did more"

Weiss let this sink in. The more she did, the worse she felt. Yes she was justified with being sceptical of pretty much any man that showed interest in her, given the track record. Oum, Jaune had been annoying and awkwardly dense and downright infuriating at times... But he didn't deserve what she had said to him. Before it was mainly her pride that had made the choice to apologise to the fool... But now she decided she _needed_ to apologise to him.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked a bemused looking Pyrrha who, after a moment, shook her head. "Then. I best get looking. That dunce won't apologise to himself... scratch that. He is just the kind of person to do that" she remarked, gaining a slight smile from the Spartan.

"I'm glad you are willing to talk to him, though I doubt he will want to see you so soon" she cautioned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

With a raised eyebrow, Weiss daintily placed a hand atop Pyrrha's. "I can't. I refuse to let this go on any longer than it has to. My pride... and my heart won't allow it"

The orchestra beat loudly, it was pained and yearned for a break of the thunderous beat. But it wouldn't, not until it's conductor had apologised for what they had done.

"Then I won't stop you" she smiled, her voice growing sincere. "Thank you Weiss..."

Weiss smiled back gently, she knew how kind and gentle Pyrrha was and especially to Jaune, it must have been killing her to see him in the state he clearly was.

While she could never see herself falling for tall, blonde and scraggly, she did feel like he deserved at the very least a kind smile and an honest apology from her.

Stopping, as she took her first step in her search for Jaune, she took a moment to think. ' _why am I constantly having to say I wouldn't ever find him attractive? It's a given after all. No matter, today has been rather difficult, I'm probably just frazzled after everything that's happened._

Shaking her head, she moved onwards, giving a farewell wave to Pyrrha as she did.

* * *

Searching throughout the halls of Beacon was hard work, short legs were always a problem for Weiss. Shockingly high, heels helped but still forced her have to power walk when she was with Yang or Blake. She was practically jogging at one point ' _Jaune could probably cover half a_ _hallway in a single step, he's that tall'_ she joked to herself as she rounded a corner.

Glancing out of a window, scanning the gardens for any sign of him, she spotted a familiar shock of blonde hair underneath a large tree. _'That brilliant gold hair was always easy to spot, surprised he doesn't light up at night'_

"Good one Weiss" she complemented herself as she made her way towards the nearest stair case to take her to ground level. Taking the first step down, she heard a very familiar holler from behind her.

"Hey Weiss, where're you off to in such a hurry!?" Yang called to her, a mildly embarrassed looking Blake behind her.

 _Should I lie and save the embarrassment that would be Yang's teasing? No. Yang would find out one way or another. The girl seems to have an uncanny ability to find out anything embarrassing that she could use on me_.

"If you must know" she said through gritted teeth. "I spoke with Pyrrha... and have decided that I must apologise to Jaune as soon as possible. So I am heading to the gardens to do just that"

"Well that's very brave of you, Weiss, I'm proud of you" she replied, walking up and putting a hand on her shoulder. Weiss couldn't believe it as she stood there, frozen like a statue, staring incredulously at the brawler. Was Yang being grown up about this? Had she truly realized that this was a serious matter and making jokes or teasing her would be inappropriate? Maybe Yang wasn't so ba-. "You're _Weiss_ -er than I thought!"

' _Aaaaaand she's back.._.' she mentally slapped her forehead, glaring at the blonde with distaste for her terrible pun.

"I'm sorry about her, Weiss" Blake spoke as she grabbed Yang by the ear and pulled her away. "Good luck"

"C'mon! That was gold!" She heard Yang yell as she was dragged away by her partner. 'Also: OW!"

Weiss's day was getting weirder and weirder. To the point she was fearful about what would happen next. She had to get to Jaune before whatever was coming, did. At least then she would have one less thing in her mind, it _was_ the thing causing the most problems for her right now.

What mattered now was that Yang being... Yang had cost time, time she could have spent making her way to the blonde idiot below. She made her mind up and made off at a run.

Descending the stairs at top speed, she landed gracefully on the ground floor and darted towards the exit that lead to the gardens. She passed by many students as she did, appearing as nothing but black blobs with the shape of a human/Faunus to her. She was tempted to use her glyphs to make up for her short stride but thought better of it. Even though her task was forefront in her mind, Weiss refused to act so reckless and embarrass herself and her name. ' _Jaune may not care about it, but I do'_ she told herself as she barrelled through the door into the gardens, stopping near instantly as she did. Looking down, her uniform was in a state from her frantic pace and she couldn't very well apologise with her clothes in such a poor state now could she? No she certainly couldn't.

Patting down her skirt and smoothing out her shirt, she took off at a more regal walk. Now she was out here she could both spot if Jaune decided to leave and a _lot_ more people would see her running like a mad woman if she did.

"Okay. Now that I'm proper, I should find him" She said to herself, trying to remember where she had spotted him, looking around she found the large tree he had been sitting under. "Aha!" She exclaimed proudly, making her way over to it.

She had a plan; she would apologise to him. Admit she went too far, that her words were... wrong. That he actually was, though annoying and moronic at times, a kind young man. Her steps grew faster. A young man who clearly, actually cared for her in his own way. Her footing faltered slightly. Who had, according to Pyrrha who was known for her honest and trustworthy nature, truly not cared about her families perks and the benefits that came with being in a relationship with a member of said family. She slowed down. A young man she had called such horrendous and cruel things, who had openly cried at them, who she had judged for the actions of others. No matter how bad her past had been with men, no matter how worthy her worries about _another_ boy coming after her for reasons other than love were... He didn't deserve it.

They always got angry, spiteful or wept crocodile tears whenever she called them out on their honeyed words that were laced with poison. Jaune though? He just looked... broken. She stopped.

Why had she stopped? She couldn't even answer it herself. She had been so full of confidence. So certain of how to act and how to deal with this situation. All it had taken was thinking of what she had said to him before and it had stopped her. Of course it troubled her, with the information she now had, her opinion on him had... changed. But would he even want to see her? She wouldn't after everything she had said and done. Maybe it would be best to let him be for now? Let him come to her and then she could apologise?

"No." She muttered to herself. "This is my fault and I need to fix it"

As she approached, she spotted Jaune, standing tall and looking to his left and down. Weiss smiled, this way she could approach him without being spotted too early. She wanted this to go perfectly. It was then she noticed Jaune's shoulders slump as he let out a sigh.

"Not gonna let that one go are you?"

Weiss froze. How had he spotted her!? How had he even noticed she was there!? She doubted even Blake would notice her presence, she was being so quiet... she made to speak when a second voice shut her up.

"Sorry" came a meek and timid female voice with an odd accent. "I know what it's like to bottle up negative emotions, my er... Friend on my team is helping me gain some confidence in being open about my problems, so I thought I could help you"

 _What?_ Weiss thought, confused as to just what Jaune was talking about to this girl. She didn't recognise her voice so it was probably someone Jaune didn't know all that well. Deciding it was best, she hid on the opposite side of the tree to the pair, just about able to see Jaune's back.

"Fine. But please, I'll only tell what I feel that I can, so don't try and pry for more?"

Weiss didn't hear a response but saw Jaune sit down with a solid thump, a far more gentle thumping that she guessed was his hand hitting the grass next to him sounded shortly after.

A third thump sounded eagerly next to him, clearly the girl he was talking to.

Hearing him let out a big sigh, Weiss listened more intently, he sounded pained. More than he already did.

"Heh... have you ever been in love Velvet?"

For the briefest of moments, the orchestra stopped. Frozen in a single moment in time as it heard the words from the boy. In the back of her mind, she also wondered just why he was telling this 'Velvet' this.

"Ummm... yes, definitely" she replied

 _Doubtful_ thought the heiress. _Love is something people rarely if ever find. I honestly doubt it even exists at times._

"Felt like you just want to make them happy, to prove to them that they were your world?" he asked again, his voice portraying a well hidden tone of sadness.

"That's what being in love _is,_ right?" her answer sounding confused, clearly trying to understand what Jaune was getting at.

"Ever been told you're basically a monster by the person you Love?"

Weiss eyes went wide. She felt as if a spear had pierced straight through her as the orchestra halted briefly for a second time, only to restart in ferocious vigour, beating their instruments with such force that every beat brought pain to the girl behind the tree. He was talking about _her._ He was talking about what _she_ had said. Was that really what she had called him? She _had_ insulted him, horribly. She hadn't called him a monster though... But it may have been kinder to do so. She had insulted him _while_ insulting him, telling him he was nothing but a boy after her for everything but love _and_ telling him he was bad at it, all while she looked at him with absolute disgust. The thought of it all made Weiss feel sick to her stomach.

"N-no" replied to equally as shocked sounding Velvet.

"Damn. I was hoping you could offer some advice, hehe" the laugh sounded so forced it could hardly be called that by anyone who heard him. He suddenly flicked his head to the side and Weiss flew back behind the safe cover of the tree. "The girl I love is rich, famous and beautiful"

It was in this exact moment, Weiss felt the orchestra itself grow cold. _What did he just say?... Did he just... how... how_ _ **dare**_ _he!? To think I actually thought he cared about more than my-_

"But I don't care about any of that"

 _...Oh._ was all she thought, she honestly couldn't think of much else to say at his words.

"What I do care about though? I love the way she carries herself, so proud and powerful like nothing can touch her. I love that she refuses to let her small stature get in the way of her taking on Grimm and people so much larger than herself. I love just how smart and worldly she is, I feel like she knows the answer to pretty much anything and could walk into any of those posh parties the rich have and just _rule._ I love how graceful she is in battle, It's almost like watching a dance rather than a fight"

The orchestra was beating their drums rapidly, though this wasn't the same horrendous and torturous beat from before. No this was a beat that rose with a speed the composer could almost consider gentle, soft and soothing. She had been showered with false compliments and venom laced smiles her entire life. It had been to the extent that Weiss had only ever experienced true compliments from her sister and Klein. That was until now. Yes Jaune had complemented her before. Yes he had listed off many of the things he liked about her. But she had never taken the time to tell if his words were true. Why should she have? To her, all he was, was a boy who came up with things he thought might get her to fall for him. Not things he truly saw and liked about her. Hearing his words though... She had clearly thought wrong.

"I actually even love her scar across her face, it's just a reflection of her. That she isn't just a cut and dry rich girl. That she has flaws but masters them. That she refuses to stay at home and be a little doll to be used as pleased. Yes, she is truly beautiful though. With eyes so intense and clear, I can look in them and imagine what heaven must look like. Her skin as pearlescent as fresh fallen snow but a heart full of burning passion. It's rare to see, but her smile can make my day no matter how bad. You know what I love most about her though? It's her voice. Oh Oum, her singing sets my heart on fire, I actually wrote her a song, I was going to invite her to listen to it today... But well. I didn't get the chance to even ask her"

Weiss felt a warm sensation build in her cheeks and a strange but not unpleasant feeling grow in her stomach as she listened to him.

"Jaune, you can stop if you-" Velvet began but Jaune cut her off.

"She's been hounded her entire life by guys after her money, fame or... her body. Like all she is, is a trophy to them, that her happiness doesn't even matter. I imagine that after all that, you'd get pretty darn sick of it"

Weiss heard the underlying anger in his voice, he sounded so _disgusted_ with how she had been treated in her past. The odd feeling in her stomach was growing with every word.

"Apparently, not surprisingly though, she doesn't trust guys anymore. She thinks that every guy that shows interest in her is after all that the others before were. It's what she thinks I'm after. She said it herself"

The songs beat was growing faster, every word that left his mouth, the conductor listened to in earnest. But it now began to let out a few bad notes amongst the harmonious tune, his latest words had caused this. A reminder that she had treated him so poorly.

"B-But! You're so nice!" Weiss heard the girl defiantly squeak at him.

"Am I? I tried to make her happy, be a goofball and possibly even get a laugh out of her. But all I did was increase her pain, would a good person do that? Would a good person do things that clearly insanely annoy her and even make her angry to have to suffer through, thinking they were at least being slightly funny to her? Would a good person reinforce the idea that they can't be... _loved_ by anyone because of who she is?" It was then she heard him let out a sniffle that preluded to a stream of tears coming down his face. The song was now pained again, the instruments being hit, plucked and struck to the point they may break from the force. It hurt so much but she refused to leave. Even if it meant having to feel this pain, Weiss refused to move. She wasn't even sure if she could if she chose to. She felt an otherworldly compulsion to listen to his words. He had done everything he could to make her happy, and now he was torturing himself for it.

"I never should of loved her in the first place"

As Weiss listened, amongst the raging emotions of annoyance at herself, sadness and some she wasn't quite sure of, she felt a pang of guilt. She was entranced by his words but they weren't for her to hear. He was opening up his heart and showing his pain to someone else. Pain, she had caused! She had no right to listen to this clearly private conversation. What would Winter think if she caught her like this?

Yet she didn't move. Weiss hated this part of herself. Where her need to know overcame her logical and straightforward need to obey the rules of social conduct.

"Excuse me?" the now angry sounding girl beside him growled. "How dare you. How dare you think so _little_ of yourself! Do you _honestly_ think that someone who could cry like _this_ over the pain you're clearly in, could be a bad person!? Could openly say how much they love someone and not just for their looks and be a bad person!? Could clearly be so heartbroken that the person they love seems to hate them!? Could look so... so... empty... I've known you for less than and hour Jaune, but I've already learned so much about you. None of those things make me think you're a bad person..." the girl seemed to be on the brink of tears herself, like she was truly upset for him. Weiss had to wonder if it was actually possible for two people to become so close so quickly... She seemed genuinely worried for him after all. "I'm sorry... Jaune, but I hate it when an _actually_ good person treats themselves so badly... you _are_ a good person Jaune. Please believe me"

 _Of course the dunce is a good person! I just... didn't realise it until now!_ Weiss mentally shouted at the girl. _But... This girl has done her best to cheer him up so I must at least be thankful to her for that, it will make it easier to talk to him if he's calm._

"Heh... I'm honestly not too sure I _can,_ but I'll try. Least I can do for my new friend"

 _Friends, huh? Seems that saying of his has some merit_ she smiled, glad to hear he wasn't too upset anymore. The sickening feeling of guilt was still throughout her entire body but she couldn't help but feel glad that Jaune wasn't like he had been before... Weiss had never wanted to see anyone like that again, she was utterly ashamed she had caused it. It was a driving force that kept her going in her quest to apologise to the dolt. She heard the girl stand up, and spotted a pale hand and a dark brown sleeve throw a hand towards the boy which he took and used to stand back up to his full, towering height.

 _Was he always so tall?_ Weiss pondered for a moment, before logic kicked in. _Why in the name of Oum would I care or even notice just how tall he is!? Not like it matters at all in any way shape or form!_

"That's a start at least" Weiss could practically hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. "I know it may not seem it, but it _will_ get better, Jaune. You'll find someone that will love you as much as you deserve to be"

"Heh... thanks Velvet... I honestly don't feel as crappy right now"

Weiss smiled appreciativley, if she ever found out what this girl looked like she had to thank her for helping her help Jaune. All that was need now was for her to play her part.

A loud beeping that was unmistakably a scroll going off, brought Weiss back to reality.

"Cheese and crackers!" the girl squeaked again loudly.

 _Cheese and crackers... really?_ Weiss groaned in her head. _Whatever respect I had for this girl has officially gone out the window with that oh so Ruby like statement..._

"That's my team wondering where I am!" the panic evident in her voice.

"Go, I'm sure they're worried about you, my team is probably worried about me as well"

 _People can say what they like about the fool, but he cares about his team more than anyone I've ever met, except maybe Ruby, and no one could ever deny that fact._

"O-okay! Thanks Jaune! I'll see you around!" Jaune's back was suddenly enveloped by a petite pair of arms that gripped tightly. Weiss felt the now familiar heat rise up in her cheeks again. It confused her to no end as to just what was wrong with her. As suddenly as she had gripped him, the girl let go and ran off at high speed. Weiss watched her run, the girl was dressed in attire that clearly showed she had a love for all things brown. What caught her attention most though, was the pair of rabbit ears atop her head.

 _Heh. Of course it would be a Faunus that helped him._ Weiss noted, she did seem to have the worst of luck today. _Okay. He's alone now. Now I can finally talk to him._

Weiss removed herself from her hiding spot, standing to her full height. Though that wasn't saying much. She checked her uniform again, just to be sure it was still as pristine as it could be. She checked it much more than was probably necessary. Was she nervous? Why would she be? Well, she never really enjoyed apologising to people, no matter how much they deserved it. That had to be it.

Finally deciding that it was good enough, she allowed herself to move away from behind the safety of her tree.

Jaune was still there, seemingly lost in thought. Was that a smile she spotted from her side view of him? This wasn't a fake one either, this looked so genuine and calm. The small view she had of the one eye she could see, showed that they were no longer so dull. That the spark was back, if only slightly.

The odd, fluttery feeling in her stomach was back. _Oum I better not be getting sick._ She silently pleaded. The last thing she needed was to be I'll right now.

"Ummm..." She started. _Who starts an apology with 'ummm'!?_ "Hello Jaune"

She watched him turn around slowly, the smile on his face was definitely a real one. That spark was there as well. He just looked so happy.

Then he seemed to realise who had spoken to him.

Then that spark shorted out, that smile lost any truth it had and all that pain seemed to shoot back into him.

Those hollow and dull eyes she hated so much, now staring at her in a mixture of confusion and shock, were back.

"Weiss..."

 **Jaune can't ever seem to catch a break, can he? And Weiss? Well she has some things to learn about a person's heart. Both of how fickle it can be, and that once broken, it's hard to repair.**

 **Will these new little odd feelings she's having come to anything? Or will fate play her a cruel hand? Meh I'm a bastard for cliffhangers so you'll have to wait and see folks**


	6. A favour and a mask

_**Edited**_

 **Chapter 6**

 **A favour and a mask**

He stared at her. He uttered her name then all he could do was stare, the world growing quiet and the light fading out till it felt like she was stood in the beam of a spotlight. She was there, an angel with blood spattered hands. A bejewelled dagger, curved blade glistening in the sunlight.

So beautiful... yet he felt complete and utter terror the second he saw her.

It hurt. It hurt. _It hurt._ The beating of the drums. The pressing of the piano keys. The plucking of violin cords. They all tore at him and he knew why. His damn orchestra still played to her tune, he wasn't the conductor, _she_ was. Ever since the day he met the girl from the songs he loved so much. She had controlled the tempo, the rhythm, pretty much _everything_ to do with it. He had never minded, why would he mind? Now though? He just wanted it all to stop. Stop how his beat increased every time she got near him. Stop how her smile made him feel. Stop it all. To the point all he wanted to do was run away, to get away from the pain...

But she had come to him for reason, be it a blade through the ribs, a restraining order or she simply wanted to tell him to stay away from her.

He would listen.

He was an Arc after all. He was the biggest failure in the Arc family. Couldn't do anything right and never would. So at the very least he could grow a pair and listen to what she had to say. That would mean he was at least _slightly_ brave.

She stared at him, a tint of redness on the cheeks of her slightly bowed head. When she looked into his eyes, he saw a small frown form on her face. She looked... _sad?_

"I... was wondering how you were feeling?" she asked, looking both embarrassed and nervous at once.

Jaune struggled to comprehend her words. Why did she care if he was okay? She hated him after all. It made no sense to the already confused boy, no sense at all.

Luckily for him, he knew what to do in a situation he wanted to get away from. It was the same tactic he had pulled earlier with his team. The fake smile. Pretend he was completely fine, smile a bit, maybe even make a joke on yet _another_ rejection.

He made his move...

Nothing happened.

His lips wouldn't move and his eyes wouldn't squint in a mock show of a grin.

 _C'mon, stupid face! Do your thing!_ He yelled to himself. Despite all his might, he couldn't force himself to even pretend to be okay in this situation. The literal worst person for him to be around right now, had come up to talk to him.

He wished Velvet was still here, she had actually managed to cheer him up a bit.

"I'm... assuming Pyrrha told you what I asked her to?" he replied, dodging her question which she evidently noticed.

* * *

 _Okay... not a subject he wants to talk about right now_ she sighed mentally. _Relax Weiss, take things at his pace._

"Yes, she spoke to me..." her reply was quiet but vocal enough that he was able to her clearly. "I thank you Jaune, I guess you're not stupid as I thought" she smiled before her words clicked into place. She saw his eyes narrow slightly and his head turned to the side. "Wait! No, t-that was mean! I'm sorry! I'm not calling you stupid I swear! I-I think you're intelligent, easily as smart as Blake! Blake's really smart!" She rambled, hands raised in apology. _Get a hold of yourself Weiss! Woman up and calm down,_ _ **yes**_ _you just insulted the man you came here to apologise to... But you can fix this!_ Taking a few, deep breaths, she calmed herself down. Able to look him in the eye as he stared at her like she had grown a second head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you"

* * *

"No... worries..." Jaune didn't know what to make of this situation. Just what the heck was Weiss doing here? _Oh Oum... Is this some way to try and get me to flirt with her again, so she can try and have me expelled for harassment? No... Weiss is a lot of things, but there's no way she would do anything like that... right...?_ "Is... there something you wanted to talk to me about? Because if not..."

Weiss's head darted up, seemingly remembering something clearly important as she smacked a hand against her head. "Yes. I... came to say..." The words stuck in her throat. _Would a simple 'I'm sorry for accusing you of being something you're not' be enough? It has to be._ "I'm... sorry. For everything I said to you, I was wrong"

* * *

The world seemed to grow silent for a second as he stared at her. Weiss was here. Apologising to him. Concerned about him. Taking the time to find him. This was too good to be true!...

 _It's too good to be true._

His chest ached, his fingers twitched and tears built up behind his eyes with that thought...

*bathump*

It hurt...

* * *

She stared at him with hope filled eyes, practically bursting as she waited for him to reply.

Already guessing what his it might be! She was excited to finally find out what he would say and do! It would mean she could put together a plan on how to apologise to him best!

She failed to take note on as to _why_ she felt so excited to be able yo talk to him.

 _Will he put on that silly grin of his and say that I don't need to apologise? Will he get bashful and go red? Or will he pull one of those cheesy lines he always uses? Will he-_

He turned around. He didn't utter a single word or show any emotion.

* * *

He didn't know why he turned around but he did, it was like he didn't want to face those words. The world suddenly seemed too bright, everything was too loud and his skin bristled as the mild wind cut across it.

* * *

"Jaune? What's wrong?" she questioned, this wasn't like him. Jaune wasn't one to ignore people, let alone just turn away from a conversation. "Didn't you hear me? I said I was sorry" she gently spoke with a half nervous/ half gentle smile, reaching out a hand to grab his sleeve.

* * *

He felt the touch, the sensation roared through him, it burned like acid. A touch he would have loved to feel, to hold her hand and walk beside her. Now all he wanted was to get away from the pain. Screw being brave! Why did he care? This... this wasn't something he could or would deal with, he needed to get away. He needed tk get away from what he could feel building up inside him

He could fell the terror and the fear and the sadness.

It was building

Building

Building

 _Building_

 _Building_

 _ **Building**_

 _ **Building**_

 _ **Building!**_

He jolted away from her, clutching at his wrist like he had just been burned. He stared at her again, unable to tear his eyes from her.

* * *

She watched him in shock, he looked so scared. Of _her._ Those dull eyes, staring at her with such intense emotion.

"What's wrong!?" she exclaimed, reaching out to him again, but again he recoiled. _Why won't he let me get near him?_

"I don't know!... Please, just stay over there… okay?" Petrified eyes darted around, a panic in them she did not expect to see. He was like a wild animal caught by a predator.

"Alright, if that's what you want me to do" she replied, she was worried for him. He had seemed so frightened of her in that moment, to the point he had recoiled from her touch. If he wanted her not to touch him then she would oblige.

* * *

"Weiss… any other time I would be the happiest person on the planet to hear you say that. But after all that's happened… I honestly can't…" he muttered, he had to ask her. "Who told you told you to find me? Was it Pyrrha or was it Ruby?"

"I... spoke with both of them. And the others" she replied, hesitancy in her usually powerful and assertive voice.

"So... you were made to come here by them, then?" He whispered, his eyes averted from her again. "Why else would you? You said it yourself; all I'm after is your money, fame or body. So why else would you be here unless you were made to?" he was shocked by how bitter he sounded, this wasn't like him. Yet he said those words, it wasn't like he could take them back so he had to deal with the consequences.

He was sure he was going to get slapped for that comment, but instead Weiss just looked even more worried.

* * *

"N-no they didn't make me!" She rather loudly replied, her beat was growing rapid and erratic, this was not going as she planned. She wanted to apologise, for him to at least forgive her and they could... be _friends?_ That would be nice after all that had happened, that they could get past all this horrible business and move on. But it was all falling apart before it could get properly going. "I genuinely am here of my own free will. I realised that I was wrong, okay? As much as I hate to admit it, I _was_ wrong. You aren't like those boys before and I should never have treated you like them, please believe me"

* * *

He couldn't help but let out a genuine smile at that. She sounded kind of like Velvet right now.

Her words were kind and gentle, she seemed genuine and sweet to the point he was tempted to try and smile at her again, to try and make that bad joke. To try and get her to think he was okay.

But something deep inside him rose a bulwark to these thoughts. Jaune didn't know what to make of it. But every time he thought about trying to properly talk to her… the images of what she had said to him flashed through his mind causing him to mentally recoil. Jaune knew what this feeling was. He'd felt it a lot during his life. He was scared. Scared to try and talk to her. Scared to try and be near her. He was too scared to even let her touch him. The question was why? Even he didn't know the answer to that.

He didn't know what to do. If this was how he was going to be every time she was near him, then what the heck could he do?

"Weiss." He croaked, raising his head to finally look her dead in the eye. She stared right back, all her attention on the boy in front of her. He made a decision. He didn't care if it was the right one but it was a decision. "If you really are here to... say you're sorry or whatever... then please do me a favour?"

"Anything!" She answered quickly, a smile returning to her face.

It was funny. Her smile, not more than an hour prior had brought him so much happiness to see. But now? All it did was make him feel empty inside.

"Stay away from me... Please"

* * *

5 words. You can do a lot with 5 words. Make someone's day, make a pun, answer a question. But _these_ five words? They broke the song. If only the briefest of moments, it stopped. She didn't know what to say to these words. How could she? She had never heard words uttered with such pain and torment. Such pleading words like she was his torturer and he was begging for death or release. There wasn't a way to answer these words in a proper manner. So instead she simply whispered

"What?"

"I can't stop loving you if I'm still around you. I can't stop feeling like _this_ if I'm around you. I don't want to feel this… pain whenever you're near me because now every time I look at you, now every time I even think of trying to smile at you Weiss… I feel like my hearts getting torn apart! Weiss all I ever do is upset and make you angry. So, if we stay away from each other, then you can move on and forget about me. You can forget about how stupid I was to think that my crummy attempts at flirting were actually making you at least a little happy. Enjoy your life at Beacon, kick some Grimm butt with your team and graduate as the awesome huntress I know you are. You won't ever have to deal with stupid old me ever again, you have my word. An Arc never goes back on their word after all" he added, barely taking the time to breath before he carried on. "I can try and get over this feeling… I've never been in love before so I don't know how long it will take. But I want to be able to try. It's killing me inside to say this to you but I don't know what else to do… so please Weiss…"

"Jaune..." She couldn't stop from staring into his eyes. She was a firm believer that a person's eyes were a gateway to their true emotions. In his eyes all she saw was the same dullness that came from pain. But alongside it was misery and suffering.

All he wanted was for her to be happy. For himself to actually be happy.

"I…"

He didn't wait for an answer. He turned and began to walk away, moving with purpose. Leaving Weiss stood there like a statue.

He slowed down, turning his head towards her slightly, with a sad smile he'd finally managed to force out. "Goodbye Weiss... I honestly hope you have the best life possible, and one day... you find someone you can love just as much as they do you, you deserve that happiness. Heck I may even find someone stupid enough to want to be with the crappiness that is me so we'll both get what we want"

Then he left. Weiss stood there. Hands lightly shaking and eyes searching for a way to stop him from leaving, so that they could talk and she could apologise! This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't what she had expected- no, what she had _wanted_ to happen. She wanted the goofy boy to laugh and give his trademark, silly grin. She wanted to apologise and then maybe treat him to an extra slice of cake at dinner. She wanted to get to know him better. She wanted to... Not see him look so dead inside. But she wouldn't get what she wanted. Jaune wasn't a servant like back home where they did whatever she wanted. No. He was Jaune, a kind soul that had, had his heart torn apart and it was all her fault.

All of his pain was her fault.

So instead she watched the lonely knight walk away. Back into the halls of their school.

* * *

As he left, his eyes so full of tears yet he refused to shed more than he already had, he failed to notice the three figures stood by the doorway. They had heard it all. They had heard every word of their conversation. Yet they didn't stop him from leaving to help their friend. What good would it do to force him to stay? All it would do is cause more problems than it fixed.

* * *

Weiss wanted to cry. Weiss wanted to cry so hard that it hurt to blink. The beat hurt greater than anything she ahd felt before. A feeling like she was she was being stabbed repeatedly by the instruments themselves as if they were punishing the conductor for what she had done. She just wanted to let out all her emotions and sob into the grass below. But she was Weiss Schnee. She did what she was best at.

"Weiss? Are you okay?" came the meek voice of Ruby Rose, the rest of her team behind her, looking equally as indecisive about what to do in such a situation.

Weiss put on her mask.

"Of course, I am" she smiled sweetly, a hint of perfectly white teeth showing. "I talked to Jaune and he asked me to do him a favour; stay away from him and I am perfectly happy to oblige. I did what I set out to do, which was to apologise to him, and now I am feeling much better about this. It doesn't matter to me that he doesn't want to talk to me anymore. We never were really friends anyway now were we? Now, while I know it is nearly time for our next class, I wish to leave to our room for a little while. This whole ordeal has left me feeling a little under the weather. Blake, would you mind taking notes for me so I can keep up to date on our studies? I would also appreciate you giving professor Port my deepest apologies for not coming to class"

* * *

"Of course" luckily for Weiss, Blake understood a mask when she saw one. She wore one herself after all. It didn't mean she enjoyed seeing it, however, how could she? As much as she.. _disliked_ the Schnee's for what they'd done to the Faunus, she refused to take pleasure in seeing something like this. This? This was just... wrong.

* * *

"Thank you! Have a nice day girls" she chimed, turning to leave in the exact opposite direction as someone she wouldn't be around again, despite it being a longer route to her destination.

"Weiss-" Ruby made a move to her partner, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She looked to see Yang smiling at her sadly.

"Give her some time, Rubes. Trust me, she needs it"

* * *

Weiss walked away, the smile on her face and her elegant and gentle walk gave nothing away to passers-by. She thought she had gotten away with it all. She thought her mask was perfect. But Weiss's beliefs about eyes had come true again. Because when her team looked at them. When they stared into the crystal blue eyes. They noticed one thing.

They looked so dull.

* * *

Team JNPR sat at their usual table, Nora doing her best to recall a dream she had, had and Ren was correcting her at every turn. It turned out Nora had a strange fascination with the idea of selling the pelts of Grimm and growing rich with Ren.

Pyrrha did her usual thing and tried to cheer Jaune up, despite his protests that he was still okay with everything that had happened a couple days ago.

Yang had filled Pyrrha, Nora and Ren in on the details the day before of what had happened underneath the tree. While they didn't agree with Jaune asking Weiss to stay away from him, they agreed to respect his wishes.

Weiss was apparently doing fine despite the circumstances. She smiled more, didn't snap at Ruby or even get angry at Yang's puns anymore. She went to classes and her grades remained as perfect as ever. She even joined in on a game at one point when the two sisters pleaded with her to play as Blake was too engrossed in one of her... novels to play.

But they were worried about her. Any time one of them caught a glimpse of blonde hair that wasn't Yang's, Weiss was gone before they could stop her. She didn't get annoyed or frustrated or show any negative emotion which just... wasn't Weiss.

They had all come to learn that Weiss had a bit of a temper and had even found it funny at times when the short girl would start using fancy words to insult them whenever they got on her nerves. This Weiss though. She was just happy. Too happy to be real. One time the three girls had been coming back from a sparring match and they could swear they heard crying coming from their room. The second they had entered though, Weiss had been cheerily sat at her desk, writing up a paper due the following week. They didn't make a remark about the small pile of tissues in the bin near her. Instead they gave their greetings, waited their turn for the shower and went to bed.

Yang had lane awake in bed that night, hearing the gentle and cute murmurs of Blake in her sleep and Ruby mutter something about cookies. This wasn't what she was paying attention to though. Instead she listened to the _very_ faint sound of crying. Weiss was definitely asleep, but still she cried.

She had quickly guessed that Weiss simply didn't want to open up to anyone right now. That she'd rather pretend to be okay than openly cry in front of them.

Yang decide that night that she was done having to deal with this crap. She hated not seeing team JNPR as much. Nora was fun to be around and Pyrrha gave her a real challenge when it came to combat.

Ever since all the trouble went down, they hadn't spent a lot of time with them for Weiss's sake. They met in the hallways and occasionally chatted, but with Weiss clearly not being able to be near the other team's leader, their friendship had suffered.

What she hated most though was something caused by her instincts as a big sister.

She hated seeing Weiss like this. So perfect and fake.

She made her mind up that night to solve this damn problem on her own.

* * *

Jaune smiled gratefully as Pyrrha tried her best to make a joke, she wasn't very good at them though. But to Jaune it was the thought that counted. She reminded him of Velvet, so kind and caring for his well-being that she was doing everything she could to make him feel better. He hadn't seen her since she had talked to him, but Jaune knew he would run into her again soon, it was hard to miss those adorable ears of hers.

Jaune didn't want people to try and make him feel better though, he just wanted to forget about this whole horrible experience and let the beat repair itself. It was still out of tune and broken. But moments like these made it feel a little better. Being around his team. Those that felt as close to family as he was going to get at Beacon. He even had training with Pyrrha tonight, she had taken it upon herself to train him to become a better Huntsman. It was helping a lot and helped take his mind off of things he didn't want to think about right now.

Jaune was torn from his thoughts when he heard a cry of pain from behind him. He half turned and noticed the second worst possible person he could see right now. Cardin Winchester.

He and his goons had been bullying him constantly lately. Finding it funny to bully him because they saw him as an easy target. They had been doing their best to make his life hell. Frankly he avoided them as best he could, he didn't stand a chance against even one of them so what chance did he against all four? He would just shrink down and hope they didn't notice him.

He was about to turn back around to do just that when he noticed just _who_ they were bullying.

Stood with a tray in her hands full of food and in her regular school uniform, was Velvet, looking scared. Her head bowed down as Cardin pulled on one of her rabbit ears as the rest of his team laughed. She was clearly in pain as she begged them to stop and tried to pull away to no avail.

Jaune's felt his blood turn cold.

* * *

He was so focused that he didn't even notice team RWBY walk in, an angry looking Blake and a very nervous looking Ruby up front with Weiss behind, being gently pushed forward by Yang. She had decided that Weiss needed some food, she seemed to always want to go late, lately. Yang clearly knew the reason for it and had 'politely' made her leave the dorm. Not giving her a chance to try and make up _another_ excuse for why she had to suddenly leave as a mop of blonde hair came into view. As soon as she spotted Jaune, Yang made her move. Practically throwing the heiress to Blake, who laid a hand on the suddenly nervous looking girl, Yang marched straight up to him.

"Hey, Vomit boy, we need to talk" she stated, the rest of his team eyeing her wearily for trouble, even Pyrrha looking tense as the blonde brawler stared at her partner.

Jaune didn't reply though. He simply stood up, gently grabbed his tray of food and made to move past her.

"Hey! I'm talking to y-" the word caught in her throat when she spotted the look of cold fury in the boys' eyes.

Cold.

That was the easiest way to explain what she saw when she looked into those eyes of his.

Gone was the warm and dopey look of someone she'd seen fall laugh like a kid at something Ruby had drawn.

Now? Now they looked ready to kill.

It was weird.

It was strange.

It was... wrong.

Those weren't the eyes of Jaune Arc. Those were the eyes of someone full of a quiet rage, she had only ever seen in a mirror.

* * *

Right now, Jaune didn't care what she wanted. He didn't care if he got expelled for what he was about to do.

 _Stop..._

He didn't even care about his own safety.

 _Think... think..._

Any reservations he may have felt about what he was going to do went as a red mist descended upon him.

 _A sneer on her face as she had his future partner impale him to a wall as she walked away with her._

 _Walking away as he begged for help, left alone in a Grimm filled forest._

 _A roll of her eyes as he asked her put to the movies, completely ignoring his existence._

 _The look in those icy mirrors as she tore his heart apart and left him to pick up the pieces._

If he was in the right state of mind, he might have wondered why these were the images that came to him... instead he used them.

Used them to fuel a rage he'd never felt before, but in that moment it felt so _good._

"Ha!" the mace wielder laughed as he gave the ear in his hand an especially hard tug. "See, I told you they were real!"

"Cardin" can the eerily calm voice of Jaune Arc, as he approached the table. A purpose in his step and any nervousness he might have felt was wiped away.

* * *

"Eh? Oh, hey Jauney boy!" he grinned, thinking up a way to insult the clearly moronic idiot in front of him as he gave another tug to the sore ear of the ugly Faunus in front of him, these animals should realise they weren't good enough to be anything better than Grimm bait. He didn't get the chance to think up one though.

"Leave her alone Cardin, she's not done anything to you"

He actually stopped for a second, a look of confusion crossing his face before he sneered and pulled on the animals ear even harder.

"Make me Ar-"

He felt something hard and metallic crash into his jaw, hitting with enough force to send him sprawling on to the floor below. The noise in the room dying in an instant bar the metallic ring of the now dented metal in Jaune's hands.

Cardin's face was in a fairly severe amount of pain as he tried to understand what had just happened.

Jaune Arc; puny Arc, the most pathetic excuse for a hunter had just clocked him round the jaw with a lunch tray. Hard enough to make him worry that he may have lost a tooth. Where the hell did he get the balls to try a stunt like that!? As the pieces clicked together, so his rage built as he made to get back up and turn the fucker into paste

"Arc, you basta-ah!" Came his suddenly squeaky voice. If the room hadn't been silent before, it most certainly was now.

* * *

What Cardin hadn't seen was Jaune bringing his leg back as far as he could and, with ferocity Jaune didn't know he had, brought the point of his foot directly into Cardin's groin with a sickening crunch.

The boy crumpled in on himself as he clutched at his crushed privates. Groaning in agony, his team stood stock still as their leader lay on the floor, with the now much scarier seeming Jaune, looming over him.

"J-Jaune!? What are you?" Velvet squeaked, in utter disbelief of what had just happened right in front of her.

Without missing a beat, Jaune grabbed the hand of the shocked looking Velvet and walked straight out of the room with her.

He didn't even seem to notice Weiss averting her gaze as he walked by, straight through the door she had entered through.

The silence in the room was deafening, only broken by a question everyone else in the room was thinking.

"What the hell just happened?" Yang muttered to herself.

 **Still felt great to re-read the Winchester line getting cut short again.**


	7. The two paths of pain

_**EDITED**_

 **Chapter 7**

 **The two paths of pain**

Miss Rose had smiled at her cheerily that morning, it was a smile Miss Schnee had known for a while and had come to expect every morning.

Miss Schnee had awoken at the polite time of 7:50, plenty of time to allow her team to get some sleep and so her own activities would not disturb them. To do so would be impolite and go against most things her father and tutors had taught her about social etiquette. That would simply not do.

To her mild surprise, Miss Rose had been awake before her and was already preparing her usual cup of warm milk and cookies at their desk. What had surprised Miss Schnee even more so, was the fact that Miss Rose was busy preparing her morning coffee, a boiled kettle that must have come from one of the communal kitchens having already poured the piping hot water into the waiting mug. She had even seemed to get it perfect. Black as midnight and, from the open packet of sugar by the side of it, a single sugar.

"Good morning Ruby" Miss Schnee greeted her respectfully. "Thank you for the coffee, it is much appreciated"

Miss Rose looked at her in a confused way. She was probably used to being chastised for attempting to create a morning coffee. Miss Schnee knew she would have to prove she didn't mind anymore, she didn't want to upset Miss Rose. Miss Schnee never went out of her way to upset people, like a proper heiress should.

 _You utter and complete liar!_

"Uhhhh… no problem Weiss, enjoy!" she smiled sweetly, passing her the piping hot cup of coffee while nibbling on one of her cookies. "I hope I made it right?" she looked rather nervous as she spoke the words, expectantly looking at her.

Taking a sip, the overpowering taste of sugar hit her almost immediately. Talking a sideways glance back at the packet of sugar, she noticed a second and third packet that she had failed to spot upon her glance at the desk earlier, were hidden underneath the first.

It was sickly sweet and frankly made her want to gag, but she had encountered many drinks and foods she had disliked at the formal parties she had joined her father to. So, Miss Schnee simply did what she did then. Without giving even the slightest hint that the drink was not to her taste, she took another sip and then gave another appreciative smile to the young girl who didn't look as happy as she should have.

"There's… nothing wrong with it… Right? Like no yucky milk or too much sugar?"

 _Yes, you dolt! It's like drinking a mug full of sugar!_

"Not at all Ruby, in fact it may be the best drink I have ever tasted"

"Oh… well, good! Oh, better wake Yang and Blake up!" she chimed only to have the slightly annoyed voice of the occupier of the bottom bunk pipe up.

"I'm already awake. Luckily Yang is a heavy sleeper or you two may have had to deal with a rudely awakened one instead of her usual self" Miss Belladonna said in her usual deadpan way, gently sitting up before stretching her arms and placing the book she had clearly fallen asleep reading, back under her pillow.

"Sorry!" Miss Rose whispered in her high-pitched voice head which she thankfully lowered, and hands clasped together behind her back in a sign of apology. "Okay, just Yang to wake up then, and I have the perfect plan" Miss Rose laughed, taking a sidelong glance at the confused looking Miss Belladonna. She grabbed her multi-action scythe that was also a gun and used the enormous blade to hook onto the side of the makeshift bunkbed and gently raise her small frame onto the bed.

Sitting upon the side of her sisters' bed, Miss Schnee couldn't see what her leader was planning but decided to wait patiently to see the results of her plan.

* * *

Ruby leaned in with a devious little smile on her lips, she had a big plan, but she needed Yang to help. Her little idea with the coffee had failed, darn, and anything else she could think of would mean zip compared to even the tiniest thing her big sis could do!

Though... she did kinda have to wake her up... that could kinda end up bad for her, like getting her head blown off by her angry sis.

Well, it was a good thing she had come with a plan!

It wasn't _her_ fault that her big sis was as easy to read as an open book sometimes.

* * *

Clearly it had worked, because within seconds, the bed seemed to explode in a mass of quilts, packets of junk food and one very shocked looking Miss Rose, who landed on the floor with a thump.

"I'm awake! Did I miss it!?" Miss Xiao Long bellowed, looking around the room desperately. That was until she spotted the now out of bed Miss Belladonna, giving a rather rare show of emotion in the form of a light blush. Garnering a blush of her own, Miss Xiao Long quickly looked away and removed the rest of her quilt before jumping from her bed and landing next to Miss Schnee with a heavy thump.

Forcing a minor jump out of Miss Schnee as she did, Miss Xiao Long gave her a sideways glance and suddenly a large and mischievous grin grew across her face, the blush no longer existent. Miss Schnee took notice of certain differences in Miss Xiao Long this morning. Her eyes looked tired and she had mild bags beneath them, showing she had not had a good nights' sleep. While the smile upon her face did indeed carry her mischievous nature in its' own way, it had an air of sadness and anger about it as she stared at Miss Schnee.

While mildly confused, Miss Schnee knew better than to pry into someone's private life directly. It was impolite and would offend Miss Xiao long if she were to point out these things about her,

 _The fool would be angrier if you didn't!_

"Morning, _Weiss-cream!_ How are ya?" she grinned, placing an arm around Miss Schnee's shoulders. "Have a nice, _Schnee-p?_ Enjoying your coffee this morning, _Weiss-icle?_ Thought I heard someone, _Schnee-zing_ last night, hope you're not getting sick?"

Both Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna looked rather scared, clutching each other as if their lives depended on it. They were staring at Miss Schnee as if they expected her to become a giant Grimm and tear the head off Miss Xiao Long.

 _Stop with the terrible puns! I will throttle you, you utter, incompetent, brutish, Neanderthal-like, pun obsessed Bi-_

"I am quite well, thank you, how are you Yang?" Miss Schnee politely asked, a smile gracing her lips.

Miss Xiao long took her arm off her in a surprised manner, clearly expecting Miss Schnee to react poorly to her puns. But she was a polite and proper Heiress who knew that showing any form of anger towards the poor forms of humour would bring forth further anger. It would bring about her other personal annoyances with all the little things her team were doing. Making her play a game with them when she clearly had better things to be doing, Miss Rose making her coffee wrong, Miss Xiao long's horrible way of leaving her clothes around when she was done using them even Miss Belladonna's habit of reading more… risqué books. Getting angry would bring about how angry she was with herself about… something not worth thinking about.

"Erm, cool! Yep! I'm super good! So good in fact that I think we'll all head down to breakfast early today! Whadda ya say, Rubes? Blakey?" she laughed, staring intently at a bemused Miss Rose and a mildly annoyed looking Miss Belladonna.

 _No. No, no, no, no, NO! He will be there I can't-_

Miss Schnee, for the first time in a while, let out a small frown which was quickly hidden behind her smile.

"Ermmm… I thought we were staying away from there because of-" a gentle thump to her side from Miss Belladonna shut her up immediately.

"We would love to go, Yang, I'm in the mood for a tuna sandwich anyway, and they always run out by the time we get there usually" Miss Belladonna smiled, clearly lying about her reasons which made it clear to Miss Schnee that she had caught on to whatever scheme Miss Xiao long was planning... what should she do? How should she respond to these clear, and idiotic, attempts to lie to her. She felt a stab of anger burn inside her, like a hot poker thrusting at her heart, how dare they try and pull some moronic scheme behind her ba-

 _Stay away from me..._

The frown disappeared and morphed into a pleasant smile as she felt her hard harden to avoid the avoid agony that shot through in that very moment. She would use her diplomacy to gently find out what they were talking ab-

"Oh, right!" Miss Rose piped up, finally understanding herself as to whatever her elder sister was planning. "Yep! As team leader I decree that we shall indulge in all the delicious grub at the cafeteria EARLY!"

Miss Schnee knew she had to intervein and stop this somehow.

"But girls, we aren't dressed. Can you imagine the scandal if we were to arrive in our current state?" she questioned, smoothly and calmly. Believing her point to be rock solid. Unfortunately, she was not aware of the combined intellect of her teammates.

"No worries, I _know_ how quickly you can get dressed and I'm sure we can all get dressed pretty snappy too!" Miss Xiao Long commented, having moved and already placed the freshly cleaned clothes that were her uniform on her bed.

"I…" Miss Schnee started to protest again but was cut off by Miss Xiao Long again.

"Hey, the rest of us wanna go, but we'd feel bad if we went without you. So, come on! You don't wanna make us feel bad right?" she questioned, giving Miss Schnee her best look of innocence she could muster.

 _Damn you, Yang Xiao long_

Giving a mild sigh of defeat, Miss Schnee gave a small smile and a nod before taking hold of her clothes and going into the bathroom to change. Resigned to her fate.

* * *

After about ten minutes, they were all ready. Miss Xiao Long had kept to her word and when Miss Schnee had reappeared from the bathroom, they were all ready and waiting. Fake smiles and all.

Amertour ones at best, she herself had been able to provide a better one at the age of six. The question was, what reason did they have for both lying to her and pretending to smile at her?

"Come on then! Food awaits!" Miss Rose stated, charging through the door with Miss Belladonna behind her followed by an emotionless Miss Schnee and finally, a fired-up Miss Xiao Long who placed a gentle yet firm hand upon her shoulder.

There was no way out now and Miss Schnee knew it.

Miss Schnee was marched through the halls of her school, her eyes scanning every direction in case some problem occurred or someone required her assistance that would prevent her from joining her team for their early breakfast. But luckily, it was _definitely_ luckily, no such things occurred, and they were able to get to their destination in record time.

A mildly nervous looking, Miss Rose opened the doors and lead the rest of her team inside to view a scene which made a certain group of people's blood boil.

Mr Winchester was sat at his table with his team, laughing heartily at something that due to the body's in front of her, Miss Schnee was unable to see.

That was until Miss Xiao Long moved forward, dragging Miss Schnee with her, heavily passing her to an enraged looking Miss Belladonna.

Then Miss Schnee could see the horrid sight. The girl from the other day was crying out in pain as her Faunus ear was tugged at painfully by Mr Winchester who seemed to be taking great enjoyment out of doing it to her. Miss Schnee was unable to hear what he was saying but had no doubt that they weren't kind words at all.

 _That uncouth, wretch! Daring to attack another student outside of combat!? If I had my way, such filth would be-… no…_

Miss Schnee suddenly became aware of Miss Xiao Long's plans for having them all come here early.

There he was. He wasn't looking at her, thankfully he didn't seem to have spotted her yet. Instead he was staring intently at the scene in front of him. If Miss Schnee didn't know him better, she may have thought he was looking rather angry. Furious even.

But he wasn't like that?

Of the few interactions with him, he was never one to anger, nor so open to show annoyance if it was dragged out of him.

This... this wasn't right...

"Hey, Vomit Boy, we need to talk" Miss Xiao Long stated, but was ignored by him.

 _I need to leave, I need to get out of here! I need to get away from him! No! I won't go against what he asked me to do! I can't! I-… I can't..._

Miss Schnee looked around her, the mask cracking slightly as she allowed a nervous expression to cross her face. It would be going against her word if she saw him again. As a Schnee it would be wrong of her to do such a thing so brazenly. She required a way out, a reason to leave but not looking like she was trying to run away. Her word was her bond. Thay was the reason she needed to leave. Nothing else, nothing at all.

For the first time in a while, Miss Schnee could feel the rhythm of her orchestra again. It was loud and practically screamed at her to run. Run away and get away from _him_. If she did, the pain and the guilt would go away, it assured her. It _hurt._

She was drawn from her thoughts by a second cry from Miss Xiao Long.

"Hey! I'm talking to y-" her words were cut short as he rose to his massive height, grabbing his lunch tray as he did.

 _He's coming! He's coming towards me! I need to get away! I need to-_

He didn't even blink in her direction, instead moving towards the bully and his victim before them all.

 _Oh... that's... good? Yes, that is good_ she told herself, yet could not stop the odd sensation that went through her. She shook it away with as much force as she could without obviously showing it.

His movements were purposeful and full of now clear anger. But not the kind Miss Schnee had seen on Miss Xiao Long, no. This was cold and full of malice.

She couldn't hear the words that the two exchanged, frankly she had no need to.

In a show that shocked even Miss Schnee, he brought his tray around in a viscous swing that crashed onto the Jaw of Mr Winchester who crashed onto the floor in a heap, the creak and groan of metal as the tray bent was more than enough to make her jump ever so slightly.

The next words of the conversation were heard clear as day to Miss Schnee.

"Arc, you basta-ah!" came the screech of Mr Winchester as a murderous kick to his groin was delivered by his opponent.

Grabbing the hand of the seemingly stunned Miss Velvet, he came marching straight back towards her.

As he grew close, Miss Schnee couldn't help but look into his eyes. They were cold as ice, piercing forward and seemingly daring anyone else to try and harm the girl he was holding onto. They were full of pain, sorrow and utter and complete fury that bordered on bloodthirsty as he marched forward. Ignoring everyone, Miss Schnee included, as he slammed open the doors she had come through only moments before.

The room was deathly quiet. So quiet that Miss Schnee could have heard a pin drop.

The only thing that was going through her mind right now was one thought. A thought Miss Xiao Long made verbal as soon as she thought it.

 _What on earth just happened?_

* * *

Jaune stomped through the halls, shoving past stunned students without caring whether or not he knocked anyone over. Jaune was angry. He had reason to be angry. That bastard Cardin had been hurting Velvet, for no reason. Who the hell wouldn't have gotten angry!?

 _I should have done worse to the fucker! I should have grabbed_ _ **his**_ _ear and twisted it until he thought it was gonna come off!_

"Jaune?"

 _All the times he bullied me, I was willing to let it go. I didn't like it but hell, what could I have I have done short of what I just did to stop him!? like a moron I thought "hey let's just let him do what he wants and eventually he'll get bored" what an idiot I was!_

" **Jaune?"**

 _But no way in hell was I going to let him hurt the_ _ **one**_ _person who managed to cheer me up at my lowest! The girl who didn't have to help me but did anyway! What kind of person would it make me if I just let him hurt her like that!? A piece of crap. Just like him. just because she's a Faunus, he thinks that gives him the right to hurt her? To try and make her feel like garbage? Well I'm DONE! I am not gonna let this happen anymo-_

" _ **Jaune!"**_ the power behind the voice beside him, threw him off, causing him to stumble as he came to a halt.

Velvet was stood there, for a long while all she did was stare at him with wide eyes. She looked so confused. Like she couldn't believe what had just happened, had actually happened. As the seconds past, tears began to brim in her eyes and the dusting of red in her cheeks built into a full on flush as she did.

All the anger, the fury and hatred just... left the second he laid eyes on her. There was worry, there was confusion and... something else. Pain?

Looking down he realised just how tightly he was gripping her wrist, letting it go instantly as he recoiled in shock.

"Oh, Oum Velvet! Are you okay!?" he worried, taking hold of her injured hand and checking for any signs of bruising or redness, thankfully all he could see was a slight paleness in the skin where he had gripped her. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know why I was gripping you so hard… I-"

* * *

"I should be asking you that, Jaune!" she squeaked, confused as to why he was worried about her with what had just happened. "What happened back there? You looked so _angry_ … and the way you hit Cardin… Jaune… I thought you were going to try and do something worse to him…"

* * *

"What?" he questioned again, equally as confused as she was. "Because he was hurting you! Velvet I wasn't going to let him just attack you like that and get away with it, you're my friend!" he near yelled. The anger rising inside him again, only to vaporise when Velvet flinched away from him at his loud voice. "Oh, no… sorry… I shouldn't be shouting around you, I imagine it hurts your ears after what happened?" he worryingly questioned her. Keeping his hands firmly at his waste, thinking that any sudden movements may have scared her more than she already was.

* * *

"It's okay… this has happened before, I'm a tough bugger so I'll be okay" she gently smiled, trying her best to be reassuring despite the intense pain surging through the appendages right now. "You get used to it after a while, I'm just glad I don't have a tail like my sisters" she badly joked, realising that talking about her history of bullying probably wasn't the best idea.

* * *

"It's not right though" he near growled but did his best to keep his voice in check for her sake. "Why should you get bullied just because you're a Faunus? How would he like it if he suddenly woke up with antlers or something and had to deal with what you have to every day?" Jaune wished this would happen, he wasn't usually the kind of person who enjoyed seeing people get treated badly. But... now? Now he really liked the idea of Cardin getting a taste of his own medicine.

He felt a hand touch his arm, only then realising that his hands, that were balled into fists, had been shaking. Looking up he saw a soft smile on Velvet's face.

"Of course, it's not. But for every bad person like Cardin, there's someone nice out there like you who'll stick up for people like me. Someone who thinks of me as their friend, who doesn't treat me differently just because I have a pair of fuzzy ears coming out of my head" her hand lowered to his and held it in both of hers, looking at him proudly despite clearly being embarrassed about the physical contact if the now even redder blush was to say anything. "So. Seeing as you consider me your friend… I think it's fair that I consider you mine. Since friends look out for each other, will you please tell me what happened back there? What happened to make you do that, because that just didn't seem like you"

With a half-arsed smile, he let out a real chuckle. "Only someone like me could help someone only to have them both question why I did it and then worry about me in general" he joked, it was a bad one, but it still got a little giggle from Velvet.

"So… is that a yes?" she questioned, the concerned look in her eyes coming back as she looked at him hopefully.

"Only if you let you take a look at your ear, one of my friends back home had to deal with the same thing when they were a kid. I know how much it can hurt" he bargained, gently removing his hand from hers and holding it out for her to shake. "Plus, you aren't very good at lying so I can tell it hurts" he laughed, as her eyes grew wide in shock before she shrunk into herself with a pout.

* * *

 _I thought I was getting better at my poker face! Oh bugger, I am going to lose at cards again tonight!_ She internally groaned, already imagining the smug grin of a _certain_ member of her team. She was never going to be allowed to forget it if she lost for the _Tenth. Time_ in a row. Swallowing her embarrassment, she flung her head up and silently nodded. Taking his hand and giving it a few shakes.

"Cool" he smiled, Velvet honestly wasn't sure if it was genuine or not at this point. He seemed to flip between them so often it was hard to tell. All she cared about what that he had agreed to talk to her. She could repay him for saving her earlier by helping him again! She could be the big hero for once and not have to rely on Yatsu to help her! She could jump to get stuff off of the highs shelf, gosh darnit! Ermmm… is there anywhere we can talk? I'd rather not tell the entire hallway my story" he added, motioning towards the hallway that was filled with curious students.

* * *

Seemingly realising where they were, Velvet began to think for a few seconds before an idea popped into her head.

"Come to my team's room, they're all out at the moment so we'll have time to talk" she smiled, it quickly disappeared when she saw the tint of red in the taller boys' cheeks. "N-Not like that! It's just my teams' room is really close and I thought that we couldn't go your room because your team would be looking for you and with all that's going on I-"

Jaune stopped her mid ramble by placing a hand on her shoulder, the blush in his face gone now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up. "Sounds great"

"O-Okay… this way" she said, leading him through the halls, past students that weren't shoved aside this time, but were moved through with the grace of two people that liked to stay out of the way of others.

Minutes of walking later, and they arrived at Velvet's room. With a quick flash of her scroll, the door unlocked and Jaune was led into the room belonging to her and her team.

To Jaune's surprise, the room looked like the same as his own room. In his head he had imagined a second years room would have been bigger or fancier or something, instead it had the same generic design as what he assumed they would all have had.

Unsurprisingly, Velvet and her team had left the beds as they were intended. With one pair against one wall and the other against the other. Not made into, in Jaune's personal opinion, highly dangerous bunk beds. All Blake had to stop Yang's bed from falling and squashing her was a stack of books in all four corners. What happened if one slipped!? Not to mention Ruby and…

 _Nope. Those thoughts are_ _ **not**_ _going to be carried on. That's the last thing I need._

"So… would you like to sit down?" she asked nervously, indicating towards what must have been her bed, if the bunny slippers and that odd-looking camera of hers which was lying on top of said bed didn't give it away.

"Oh… yeah, sure" he replied, moving over slowly and letting himself gently drop onto the soft mattress with Velvet sitting at the other end, looking at him with the same worry as before. "Before we start, where do you keep your first aid kit? It should have something in there to help with the pain"

"Oh! Here!" she replied, getting up and disappearing into the bathroom only to return seconds later with a red box with a plus on it. She passed it to him before sitting back in her usual original position. Opening the box, Jaune found a few roles of bandages, bags of that weird liquid that went cold as ice if you broke whatever was inside them, needle and thread and finally a small tub of soothing cream.

"Perfect!" he chimed, removing the tub and the bandages before closing the box again, turning back to her. "Now… this is gonna be a little cold at first but it'll help take down any swelling and also help with any itchy rash you get from the irritation you might have" she nodded wordlessly, gently bowing her head and keeping her injured ear as straight as possible.

Gently running his fingers into the cream, he got a healthy dollop that should do that job.

"lemme know if I hurt you okay?" he quietly asked her, receiving another nod. Taking a calming breath, Jaune moved his fingers to gently place under her ear and moved his other hand to place the cream on what he could clearly see was where Cardin had been holding. The fur was out of place and you could just about the see a faint hint of red underneath the hair.

As the cream made contact she flinched.

"You okay!?" he worriedly asked, retracting the hand immediately.

* * *

"Y-Yes… it was just cold" she laughed quietly, being honest with him as she knew that he could see straight through her lies, something that still annoyed the heck out of her. Maybe she should buy one of those books on getting a good poker face... should stop Fox from being a sod and saying even HE could see through her poker face.

* * *

"Okay…" he moved the hand closer again and rubbed the rest of the cream in, before he took the bandage and gently wrapped it around her ear, being careful to be as gentle as he possibly could be with her.

Tying the not to keep it secure he leaned back, showing her he was done to which she raised her head with a smile.

"Thank you, that honestly feels better already"

"No problem, happy to help" he replied, not exactly sure what else to say given the circumstances.

"Okay. I held up my end of our deal, so please… talk to me Jaune. What happened out there?"

With a sigh, Jaune leaned forward, taking his head in his hands as he started to think back to what he had done. It almost felt like a dream. Or to be more accurate. A nightmare.

"I honestly don't know. I don't think I could have stopped myself if I tried. It was like, I saw you getting hurt and I just lost it. You know that thing they say about when a person get's really mad? I think they call it "red mist" or something. But I think that's what happened. I honestly don't regret getting Cardin to stop. What he was doing was wrong in every sense of the word. But… you're right when you say that wasn't like me. I could've handled that so much better. I could have gotten Miss Goodwitch or tried to talk him out of it, but instead I just hit him" he sadly spoke.

The adrenaline had worn off, and now Jaune was just left with his thoughts and emotions. He of all people knew how bad it was to be like that after what he had done. "The scariest part though? I kind of enjoyed it at the time… it was like I was getting all my anger. All my frustration. All these horrible feelings I have building up inside me were just there and I wanted… no I _needed_ to get rid of them. Then along came Cardin to hurt my newest friend and bingo, bongo I had my way to vent… I'm sorry Velvet…" he mumbled, holding back his tears as the girl beside him tried to think up a way to cheer him up.

She didn't get much of a chance though. Because as Jaune finished his last word, the door to the room was slammed open with a thunderous kick.

A figure stood in the doorway, the sudden blinding light from the window outside stopped jaune from getting a good look at the attacker. What he did notice though, was the massive mini-gun pointed straight at him, and it was already revved up and ready to fire.

"Someone mind explaining to me why I just got told my girlfriend was dragged out of the cafeteria!?"


	8. Opening up

_**EDITED**_

 **The song of her heart**

 **Chapter eight**

 **Opening up**

"W-Wait, Coco!" Velvet cried, jumping in front of the boy who had helped her in a state of panic. "T-this isn't what it looks like! He saved me from Cardin and his friends! He… He helped patch up my ear after it got hurt… Please don't hurt him!" she felt like she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack as Velvet pleaded with her team leader.

"Yeah… not buying it. Plenty of guys out there would pretend to be nice to get you alone in a room. You're just too innocent the realise it babe. Now move aside so I can blast this asshole sky high" she said with what most people would think was a cheerful and carefree tone... if only that was the case. Velvet could see the little twitch in her eyebrow, how her hand gripped the handle of her weapon ever so slightly harder than she needed to... she was _beyond_ angry.

* * *

The girl before them was frankly beautiful in all regards. Fair skin that paralleled her short, light brown hair which had curls flowing down her right side which slowly turned from chocolate to caramel in colour and coco coloured lipstick that was held in what must have been a naturally cocky smile.

Her clothes though, spoke more about her personality than anything else. On her head was a black beret with an ashen grey trim around the edges. Covering her glaring eyes was a pair of aviator glasses that were dipped slightly, allowing the two teens a view of her furrowed eyebrows.

Her neck was covered by coco coloured ruffles that were held in placed by a black scarf which wrapped around them and tied off towards her left shoulder, draping down the equally coco coloured, long sleeved shirt. Multiple sets of beads hung off her neck, beneath the black scarf. The shirt itself was encased in a dark brown cincher, which hugged her small waist tightly around the strap before fanning out slightly around her hips. The hands which gripped the massive weapon in her hands tightly were fitted with a pair of fingerless, leather gloves that showed of just how strongly she was gripping her weapon, if the white in her knuckles was anything to show. An oddly cute looking bracelet with black roses as decorations atop it, jingled on her one wrist.

Her dark brown pants were held up by an ebony black belt studded with gold which was overlapped by a much larger and bullet carrying belt, with a cross hairs style of buckle, of a slightly darker shade of coco than her shirt and was accompanied by ribbons along her left leg.

Finishing off her attire was a pair of a pair of near black, brown leather boots with outrageously high heels, already adding to her already tall height and making her nearly as Jaune himself... funnily enough he didn't find himself caring one bit though.

One word.

One word she'd just said had snapped him out of his fear, one word made him feel something he was doing his best to hold in... not that it did him any good.

* * *

"Coco! Please, he really is a nice person!" Velvet continued to plead, forifjng herself to be brave, or at least pretend to be! Jaune was in danger and she knew Coco's temper was the kind of thing you did _not_ want briught down on you. Heck, she'd seen a boy get a right smacking when he'd spilled juice on her purse... this though... this was a lot worse...

She thought Velvet was in danger and... well, if there was one thing that Coco was more protective of than her clothes, it was Velvet herself. She wouldn't have blamed Jaune for doing a runner st the very sight off her p'd off girlfriend!

Which was why she was so shocked by his next words.

"You're her girlfriend?" came a quiet, yet menacing voice. She turned to the sound and felt all her instincts go into overdrive at the sight of her friend looking at her girlfriend with a cold and menacing glare.

"You bet kid, and I don't take kindly to people trying to take advantage of my buns good nature" Coco replied, either not registering or not caring about the sudden shift of mood in the room. "So I'm going to ask you nicely to get away from her bed so I don't ruin it when I do to you what I did to the last guy who tried anything on her" she smiled, her finger clearly itching to pull the trigger that was millimetres from said digit.

Velvet froze.

She wasn't proud of it, in fact she bloody hated it, but she froze as her friend and her girlfriend stared at each other with enoug hatred and negativity to attract Grimm to Beacon... what could she possibly do?

* * *

"Hah!" he laughed darkly, standing up and moving forwards slightly. "You hypocrite."

The statement was blunt. He didn't try to hide any meaning behind it besides what it was. He called her a hypocrite and meant it. What else could he call her after what she'd done. Or _not_ done, to be honest.

"Hey, mind explain what's so funny, kid? Getting kinda bored waiting to pulverise you, I have a manicure at 6"

He wanted to punch this girl straight in the face. The urge was there and a small part of him got very worried why he liked the idea so much... this wasn't him. He didn't act like this... so why didn't he stop himself from stepping forward?

He moved past Velvet, being careful not to bump her as he made his way towards the awaiting Coco, a snarl threatening to break through his lips as he loomed over her, all she did in reaction was rase an eyebrow.

* * *

"J-Jaune?" was al Velvet could muster before her nerves took over. All her instincts were telling her to run as the knight with the cold smile walked past her. This- this wasn't right. This wasn't the boy she'd met in the gardens that day who still tried to smile despite how much pain he was in.

* * *

"What I find funny… is that you're daring to even pretend you care about her safety at all" he growled, walking straight up to Coco and going past the minigun like it wasn't even there. He stopped mere inches from her face, looking down to find her confident smile had yet to waver. "How could you _ever_ pretend to care about her safety when _I_ was the one who had to save her from having her ear nearly pulled off by Cardin Winchester!?" he roared, for once seeing the smile on Coco's face dip slightly. "How can you even pretend to care about her when you were _nowhere_ to be found when I cracked him across the skull with a lunch tray and busted his racist balls in two!? If you actually cared about her, you would have known about what had happened, because let's face it! Peolle like Cardin Winchester will have been doing this to her for a _long_ time! If you were a good girlfriend, you would have put a stop to that the _second_ it started happening! Being with someone means you learn to look out for any signs that they're in pain or upset! Being with someone means you are always there to help them and defend them against the things they can't deal with! Being with someone means-"

"She really hurt you didn't she, kid?" the words cut through Jaune like ice. Stopping mid-sentence as he struggled to comprehend the words that had come out of her mouth. Her smile was gone, and she simply stared at him with a serious expression. "You loved her with all your heart and she just treated you like something she stepped in. Then she hurt you worse than anyone had ever before. So badly that you just don't wanna face those bad thoughts welling up inside you. So instead you pretend to be happy and okay" she was frowning at him now, like Saphron did when she was disappointed in him. What right did she have to look at him like that? She was the one who left her girlfriend to people like Cardin!

"Like you aren't ever bothered by what happened. Unfortunately for you, numbskull, is that doing that crap can make you more than a little pissy at things you wouldn't normally get too angry at. Point proven by the way. So. Tell me, kid. How did she hurt you? Make you think you had a shot then turned up to your date with another guy?"

Jaune didn't even blink at the question. His head slowly lowering, as he clenched his teeth shut. The memories and feelings pouring back into him. The memories he so desperately wanted to forget. To shut out and never think of again. This girl was bringing them all back.

 _I have lived my life being fawned over by armies of suitors that did all they could. They all did better jobs than you. They dressed better, flirted better, their words were the finest and most romantic pieces that their servants could think of. But there is one thing that you and they have in common_

"Did she make fun of you to all her friends and make you a laughing stock on campus?"

His eyes squeezed shut. She needed to shut up. She needed to shut up, _now._

 _All you and those boys before you are after is my money, my influence, my body or even all three. You clearly don't love or even like me in a romantic way. What man would do all of_ _this_ _foolish behaviour after constant rejection unless they were trying to woo me for reasons other than love._

"Call you ugly and act repulsed when you asked her out?"

 _Shut up. Shut up._ _ **Shut up!**_

 _Whether it is your families or your own agenda, I want you to know that you will_ never _have me as I am far too tired of foolish men who don't love me for me. Not my name._

"Did she treat you like you were just like every guy who had ever tried to flirt with her?"

The fist was raised and swinging towards her face before he could register it. The red mist descending as he forced all his fury into this single strike. He wanted to make her go away. He wanted her to go away and make all this pain just leave him alone!

 _LEAVE ME ALONE!_ he screamed, his mind near shattering with the volume of his internal roar, tears filling his vision and a snarl on his lips. What did she know!? What did she care!? She had no right! No right at all!

"No!" He ever so faintly heard Velevt scream, he might have worried about what she would think about him, attacking someone like this but...

He was going to make all the pain go away with this punch. It was his only option. It was all he wanted to do. It was all he _could_ do.

Only.

It never landed.

The girl who was on the receiving end of the incoming strike, stepped forward. Effortlessly diverting the course of the hand away and continued her slow charge.

She didn't hit him though. She didn't kick, claw or shoot him.

Instead, with the heavy clunk of her weapon hitting the ground, she did something the boy full of rage and sorrow never expected.

She hugged him.

As her finger tips made contact with him, Jaune felt a gentle coolness flood into him. It was a feeling like no other. It doused the fires of rage inside him. It just all disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing but the now empty of rage emotions he had wanted to forget. *

They were just... gone.

He found himself trying to claw them back, he needed them. He needed them to keep all these horrible feelings away!

Yet they still left him. They left him all alone with all these horrible feelings shooting through him, hurting worse than any beating he ever took.

Then.

He began to cry. He wracked with tears as he collapsed into the girls' arms, unable to hold back as he felt the emotions take over.

This carried on for a few minutes, Jaune barely noticing Velvet shut the door to shut out the onlookers who had come to watch the spectacle. Finally, however, Coco pushed him up and looked him dead in his red eyes.

* * *

"Heh… Velvet was right about you, you're so full of pain it makes my chocolate heart hurt" she smiled, pushing the boy back gently to keep him at arms-length in case he started to cry again.

"What?" was all he could muster, she might have laughed at how much he looked like a confused puppy right now. Damn it, it would probably upset her little bunny though, plus... well, even she could tell now was not the time for jokes.

"Sorry kid. But I had to make sure I knew what I was getting into when my Honey-Bun asked me to help you out. Plus I really did get a bit… murdery when I hear a guy just grabbed my girlfriends hand and dragged her out of the cafeteria, so the gun show was just to make sure you really were a nice guy like she said you were"

"Coco…" came the embarrassed voice of Velvet, her cheeks red and her ears drooped. Oh... oh gods the urge to let those ears of hers was almost too tempting to pass up.

* * *

"What?" he said again. Unsure of what else he could say to the situation.

"Okay. I think I may have broken your brain a bit back there, why don't you sit down and we'll talk?" she said, gesturing towards the bed.

With all the adrenaline he had poured into his rage, Jaune could do little else but sit down heavily on the bed and watch as the two girls sat down next to him.

"Right!" Coco smiled, offering a hand to the still bemused Jaune. "I think it's best we start our first meeting over, am I right? I'm Coco, Coco Adel and I'm the leader of team CFVY. I'm smart, strong and the most fashionable person on campus! I'm also the girlfriend of a certain long eared cutie" she winked, Velvet going beat red in embarrassment. "Other than that, I'm the heiress to a massive clothing and fashion setting empire and I hate racists, bullies and anyone who picks on people for no good reason"

"Umm… sure… I'm Jaune Arc… leader of team JNPR and… really confused" he replied, gingerly taking her hand and doing his best to not look her in the eye. The guilt of what he had just tried to do to this girl, came rushing in and attempting to drown him. Coco quickly withdrew her hand and smacked Jaune in the back of the head.

"No making yourself sad kid. Can't help you if you're a blubbering mess, now can I? Yeah, I can tell you were just feeling guilty about trying to crack me one in the jaw. Don't worry! A puny punch like that couldn't hurt me" she replied, raising an eyebrow at him and laughing cheekily.

"Coco!" Velvet scolded, placing a sympathetic hand on Jaune's shoulder, giving him a shy smile.

"What do you mean? What… happened back there?" he asked, his head slowly feeling less and less fuzzy as he forced his brain to focus on the words of the girls beside him.

* * *

"That's Coco's… semblance" Velvet said awkwardly, looking towards said girl for help.

"Think of it like this kid" she said, coming to the aid of the Faunus in distress. "I can see something like a secondary Aura around people. It changes colour and intensity depending on their mood and emotional state. Believe me, yours was one of the weirdest I've ever seen. Think of it like a storm in a bottle, thunderous destruction all getting shoved into a little bit of glass that cracks aevery now and then, letting a little of that storm out. You... well, let's just say ya damn near might ws well have just thrown the thing at the wall and let it all out. Helps me tell who the… less than lovely people are and who the nice guys and gals are. Really helps at cards as well" she grinned, looking towards a betrayed looking Velvet.

"You said you wouldn't use it!" she squeaked, looking outraged at her girlfriend.

"Sorry Bun, I couldn't resist" she laughed taking in the sight of her annoyed girlfriend before letting out a rather sad sigh. "Only problem is, if I'm using it and touch someone skin to skin, I... kinda take their emotions and make them my own… it royally sucks I'll tell you that"

* * *

Jaune turned to find her having taken off her glasses and he could finally see her eyes properly.

He was shocked by what he saw. Her eyes we like dark chocolate and carried a power inside them. But what Jaune noticed most of all was just how dull they were. They looked so sad and broken as she smiled at him, tears brimming and threatening to break the damn.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried, trying to figure out a way to help her before he received yet another smack to the head from Coco who gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Don't kid. Last thing we need is too blubbering messes… But I gotta be honest… you're a lot tougher than I thought. Going more than an hour feeling like this… I can't imagine"

Velvet gently crossed the bed and moved to softly give her girlfriend a hug.

"It'll be okay, it goes away after a few minutes… I'm sorry for what happened back there Jaune" Velvet apologised, offering a small smile. "Coco can be a little… extravagant at times"

He offered an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his head gently. "Believe it or not, but I've had worse. One of team members once threatened to beat me to paste with her hammer if I didn't tell her where her partner had hidden the pancake mix, don't ask. It's too hard to explain"

"Huh, I think I know the feeling" Coco smiled, all traces of her sad eyes gone as she straightened up to her full height. "Fox gets the same when someone steals his biscuits" she grinned, getting a small laugh from Velvet.

Jaune smiled at her words, he liked seeing two people so clearly in love. But thinking this made him think. He still hadn't properly apologised for what he'd done.

"Listen… I'm" he paused when he saw the shadow of hand go behind his head. "Wait! I gotta say this okay?" the hand lowered and both girls looked at him expectantly. "I'm sorry for what I said and did okay? You seem like a great girlfriend… I guess I just let my emotions get the better of me"

"No worries" came the reply from Coco, almost looking a little bashful as she said it. "Frankly I was being a bad girlfriend back there, shoulda been there to look after this one and saved you the trouble. But I do what I can whenever I can. Trust me. Team CRDL will be getting paid a visit tonight I can promise you that" she grinned, ignoring the protests of Velvet as her eyes grew hard as she looked at Jaune.

"Speaking of emotions getting the better of people. Care to explain what exactly happened between you and the Ice Queen?"

Jaune took a double take as he stared in utter shock at Coco.

"H-How did you?"

"I'm a bit of a gossip, kid. If it's worth knowing, I wanna know it. So. Spill it"

"Coco! You can't just make someone talk about something so personal!" Velvet scolded, giving a couple gentle smacks the girls arms.

"Oh, come on Velv!" she retorted, turning her gaze to the annoyed Faunus. "You asked me to help this 'new friend' of yours, oh by the way I'm here to help you get over your problems kid, but I can't ask him what precisely happened? All I got from my sources was that he tried flirting with Ice queen, she said something _really_ nasty to him, he ended up walking out and leaving her to storm out in the opposite direction a few seconds later! After that all I know is that she tried to talk to him underneath the tree where you met him, and he walked off again! I need details, Velv!"

"Yes… but it's still wrong to ask like that…" she mumbled, turning her head from her with a huff.

"No, it's okay" Jaune butted in, not wanting the two to get in a fight. "I… I might as well tell you. people will probably find out eventually anyway" he sighed, not entirely sure where to start.

"If you're sure" Velvet said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Same, sorry kid" Coco admitted, getting an approving smile from Velvet.

"Yeah. Yeah I am" he smiled dimly, not looking forward to opening up again so soon. "It all started a couple days ago-"

"-and that brings us to here… I just want her to be happy… I know now that I am a bit angry with her after everything… but I really do care about her happiness. I just need to focus on my own as well… even if that means not speaking to her anymore" he finished, not too sure what he was feeling right now. Be it the emotions he'd been dealing with since this whole thing had started, or if it was something entirely different. He just didn't know.

* * *

Velvet and Coco had listened intently throughout the entire story, Coco nodding her head and clenching her hands slightly as Jaune got to the bit where Weiss had called him everything she had. Velvet had gotten a little emotional and separated from Coco so as not to accidentally make her sad again.

"Heh… kid. You are the biggest-*smack*" she was stopped by the strike from Velvet and a warning glare. "… Softy I've ever met. Caring about whether or not the girl who broke your heart is happy has gotta be the nicest thing ever. I don't exactly agree with everything you did but it's your choice at the end of the day. But I will say this. Sometimes ignoring a problem can be a lot worse than facing it" Coco counselled, a serious expression on her face.

"Yes… y-you can't just runaway or pretend that the problems aren't there… I used to do that, I still do sometimes, and it never ends well Jaune" Velvet added, trying her best to sound confident in her words.

* * *

"So… you want me to go and talk to… Weiss now?" he questioned, worried that was what they were implying.

"Oh, Oum NO!" Coco cried, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Going to see her right now would most definitely end in you two trying to kill each other! You, going nuts at the flip of a hat and Ice queen… Well I know how another Heiress, especially one like her, would handle something like this. Just give it time. Let the heat die down and maybe after a week or two you two could try and talk. I bet that'd be plenty of time for you two to sort your feelings out, kid" she corrected, Velvet nodding her head in approval.

"I've seen bad arguments Jaune. Coco's right let things calm down and… maybe talk to the people on her team. See how Weiss is doing and try and work your way up from there. Staying angry and upset with each other will hurt both of you" she smiled and got one from Jaune as well.

"I'll be straight with you kid. I've seen what being like this does to people. You'll mess with your head and put yourself and others at risk if you keep letting it control you like this" Coco told him, that same disapproving look corsding her features, his body suddenly weighted down by guilt making him turn away with an ashamed look on his face. "But." She stared again , a warm and almost sweet looking smile on her lips. "I can tell you're a good person at heart, kinda hard to pretend to be anything else with my semblance... I want you to promise me that, if it gets bad again or you start thinking you might end up having a bad moment, you'll come find one of us. Alright? I can see us becoming good buddies, so I'd hate to see you get in trouble"

He couldn't help but feel a small warmth settle in his chest with his sincere she sounded... funny. She'd been threatening to turn him into mincemeat a little while ago but now they were talking like friends... maybe that was the furthest he would ever get with girls. Being their friend... it was odd, but, in that moment... the idea didn't upset him as much as he thought it might.

He smiled at them both, nodding his head sincerely, happy to see the smile that came to both of them.

A buzzing in his pocket, alerted Jaune to his scroll going off.

"Oh crud, it's Pyrrha… I gotta take this" he apologised, the two girls waved him off to answer it.

"Hey, Pyrrha" he answered weakly, both Coco and Velvet heard the shocked squeal of someone from the other end of the line.

"Fearless Leader! Where are you!? We need to celebrate the bringing down of the vile monster Cardin! I need your presence here to convince Ren that we need to make celebration pancakes!" Nora cried through the scroll, nearly blowing Jaune's eardrums out.

"Okay Nora, I'll meet you back at our dorm room asap… ermm… you didn't steal Pyrrha's scroll to call me, did you?"

"Hrmm? Oh nah! I just left mine in the room and Pyrrha was worried where you were! Oh, but she did want to talk to you! Here ya go Vice Fearless Leader!" Jaune heard the fumbling of a scroll and the exasperated sigh of Ren as Jaune assumed Nora had thrown the scroll to the Spartan.

"Hello, Jaune! Are you alright? After everything that happened in the lunch room I was… worried about you" she asked him in a concerned voice, making Jaune feel slightly guilty but quickly stopped those emotions as he could practically feel Coco's hand beginning to raise towards his head.

"Yeah… I'm okay now. A couple friends helped me" he smiled, looking back at the blushing Velvet and the smug looking Coco. "I'm coming back to the room pretty soon, if you want we can do some training tonight? I think I owe you an explanation about what happened"

"Oh! Alright! I would be glad to do that!" she replied, seeming both surprised and happy at his answer. "Oh, I should say, Miss Goodwitch came and demanded to know who attacked Cardin but surprisingly no one, not even his team gave you up. I believe the rather fearsome looks they received from the other Faunus students convinced them. While I wouldn't usually condone violence against someone outside of training… I am proud of you, Jaune. You stood up and protected someone who couldn't protect themselves, I just know you will make a great hunter one day! Even if you're one that uses odd ways to attack his enemies" she laughed quietly, enjoying her little joke that Jaune couldn't help but smile at.

"Aw geez, Pyrrha. You're gonna make me go big headed at this rate… thanks though… nice to know people know the truth of what was happening there. I'll see you soon, see ya" he ended the call with a smile, a small yet genuine one. "Listen… Thanks to you both for helping me out… you two didn't have to do this-"

"Like hell we didn't, kid!" Coco shut down Jaune's thank you then and there. "Velvet hasn't known you for long and yet she seems to think of you as one of her best friends and any friend of hers is friend of mine, plus… you helped her when I couldn't. Thanks for that, Jaune" she smiled at him cheerily.

"Aw, no 'kid'? I was starting to like that" Jaune replied with a smile and got a pillow to the face as a result.

"Watch it kid. I was just starting to warm up to you" she warned, waggling a finger at him. "Oh, by the way. As thanks for helping you, you're gonna help me and Bun here with our shopping this weekend. Be at Bullhead station two by 9:00am Saturday morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed. You'll have a hard days' work ahead of you"

"Ummm… sure? I don't have anything going on then I think" Jaune pondered, his mind coming up blank for anything he had planned that day. "I gotta go, my team will be worried about me… and seriously you two, thanks" he smiled before going out the door and heading back to his own room.

* * *

Inside Velvet and Coco let out an exasperated sigh.

"That kid has gotta be a special kind of stupid to think that telling Ice queen to stay away and not talk to him anymore will help either of them!" she groaned, flopping back in the bed in frustration.

"I know… is there any way we can help him?" Velvet questioned, trying to think up a solution herself.

"Afraid not. Best we can hope for the kid is that he chooses to take our advice and give him and her some time to cool off, I was serious when I said I would expect blood if those two met up so soon after this stuff went down"

"What do we do if she hurts him again?" the rabbit girl asked worriedly. Already fearful for what it may do to her friend.

"Then I'll pay her snobby butt a visit and kick it so hard she won't be able to walk anymore. I felt what he's feeling right now, Velv. It scared me how most people feeling what he's feeling wouldn't… cope with what he's dealing with"

"It'll be okay, I get the feeling he's tougher than he looks" Velvet smiled, before growing a small frown and stared down at her girlfriend. "By the way. For pulling that prank, cheating on cards night and making me worry about you and Jaune not getting on, I'm not making you any carrot cake for a month!"

"WHAT!?" came the stunned screech of one, Coco Adel

 *** For those wondering. I am having this as Coco's semblance as she isn't given one outside of the show and we have seen people such as Yang or Nora perform incredible feats of strength without the aid of their semblances so I'm using that to explain away the theory her semblance is super strength. Plus, it makes sense in my opinion as I imagine Coco is a bit of gossip and is very critical in her evaluations of people as to whether she likes them or not. So, I imagine a semblance where she can tell a person's emotions and get a slight clue as to what they're thinking would suit her. Like in Jaune's case. She was aware he had been hurt by someone, thanks to Velvet and could tell with a look at him that he a bubbling mass of negative emotions ready to burst out. But she didn't know how she'd hurt him. So, she had to probe his emotions to test out how he would react, so she would know how to help. I gave her the side effect to make her semblance less OP and more empathetic. (Damn shame her semblance was revealed to be something... I guess fitting but also a little... underwhelming? Like I expected something more from someone like Coco other than 'I can make bullets hit harder')**


	9. What lies beneath the mask

_**EDITED**_

 **The song of her heart**

 **Chapter 9**

 **What lies beneath the mask**

Miss Schnee wasn't sure how to react to what just happened. How could she? He had never acted so violently before. He had never attacked someone, even in training so viscously. The way he had walked up to Mr Winchester and struck him so violently only to then deliver another violent blow to his… crotch.

What was worse for Miss Schnee though, was when he had grabbed Miss Scarlatina's hand and walked her out of the room. He hadn't even looked Miss Schnee's way, no sad glance towards her, no avoidance of her presence or even an angry glare. He had simply walked past her, eyes never wavering as they stared ahead as he slammed open the doors to leave. She had watched it all, even with her head turned, her traitorous eyes had been glued to him. those eyes of his were not the sad one's Miss Schnee had seen under the tree where she had most graciously accepted his offer to an agreement which would benefit them both. No, his eyes were cold as ice yet filled with a burning rage she had never seen before.

 _He looked so… wrong._

Why Miss Schnee's eyes had wandered to the hand that had been grasping the hand of Miss Velvet's was beyond her. Though for some reason she felt an odd feeling in her chest, it was a feeling she quickly crushed. It would not do to show the fact she was experiencing this odd feeling.

Frankly it made no sense to her, but the situation was done now. She had enjoyed her breakfast in peace, despite the rest of her team seemingly not hungry anymore. They had seemed reluctant to sit with her after the incident but had begrudgingly agreed to it after Miss Nikos had come and told them she and the rest of her team would look for him.

It had only been interrupted by Miss Goodwitch, who had come, demanding to know what had happened to Mr Winchester. Miss Schnee decided no to bother herself with outing him. What purpose would it serve except to cause a rift in her team which seemed to enjoy his presence, for reasons she couldn't fathom. Apparently, the rest of the student body seemed to agree. No one came forward to explain the events which had occurred only minutes before. Miss Goodwitch had left, promising that she would find the one responsible as Mr Winchester was aided to the first aid after having apparently lost a tooth and having trouble walking at the moment.

After finishing her breakfast and allowing her team to do so as well, as was proper of course, she soon retired to her room to work for the remainder of the day.

But of course, Miss Xiao Long seemed to have other ideas apparently, she said she needed to train and would talk them later. Miss Schnee had accepted this obvious lie, but to out her rather pathetic attempt at a lie would serve her no purpose other than to upset her and the rest of her team. That was simply out of the question.

 _She had better not do anything stupid_

That left her, Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna to be in their room.

That was a few hours ago and it was currently Sunday evening which meant she had to prepare for the start of another week or hard yet rewarding work. Work that, if she excelled at, would bring pride to her family and help prove the Schnee blood line was still running strong. That was what Miss Schnee was trying to focus on at the moment. Trying was the key word there.

"I still think we should have gone after him!" Miss Rose squawked, from her roost atop her bed. Her arms were crossed and she held a worried expression across her face from what Miss Schnee could see from her position at the desk. "You know him! He could be going on a bully beat up spree! He could be going on a quest to get rid of every meany in the entire of Remnant! Heck he could have gotten lost trying to _find_ the bullies to beat up! You know how bad his sense of direction is!"

"Ruby" Miss belladonna spoke in her usual calm and clipped tone. "I doubt Jaune would do anything like that. What I would be more worried about was how he acted. While I approve of anyone who hates violence against the Faunus, from what I've heard about him from you and Yang he is usually a nice and innocent person. I imagine… certain things may have caused him some emotional distress"

Miss Schnee felt her eyebrow twitch at the words. She knew Miss Belladonna's words were aimed at her. She knew that Miss belladonna was referring to the incident between Miss Schnee and him. But Miss Schnee had done what he wanted. She had stayed away from him. She had avoided him at all costs so as to meet his demands. It benefitted her as well, as it stopped her feeling certain… things that he seemed to inspire whenever she saw him.

"That's worse! Maybe he got hit by some weird radiation and gets super strong and tough when he gets mad! Heck the military will come looking for him If he keeps beating up bad guys with lunch trays! You don't want that, right Blake? Wei-… erm you do care right, Blake!?"

Miss Schnee visually paid no notice to Miss Rose's outburst, yet her pen did slip slightly when Ru-Miss Rose cut herself off mid-sentence upon nearly saying Miss Schnee's name. This was something Miss Schnee decided wasn't appropriate behaviour and so forced herself to concentrate harder on her work. Clearly, she had been distracted by Miss Rose calling her name. that must be the reason.

 _It's not and you know it!_ Came a small and almost unheard thought, that miss Schnee had been having to deal with lately, whenever certain conversations were brought up. The stress of having to work in a room with her very loud leader was probably causing it. Miss Schnee just needed to finish this piece and then she would go for a walk to clear her head.

"I do care. Though I honestly doubt he's absorbed anything radioactive lately" Miss Belladonna responded and calmly as ever. "If you'd like, when Yang gets back, we can go look for him. Care to join us, Weiss?"

Miss Schnee's pen stopped. Letting out a sigh, she hadn't realised she'd needed to take, she placed down her pen and turned towards Bla-Miss Belladonna.

"I am afraid that I am far too busy to look for, him" she smiled at her, showing that she _was_ in control of her emotions and was being sincere to Miss Belladonna.

 _Don't do this Blake…_

"Really? I watched you do a paper twice as big in less than a couple hours, once" Miss rose enquired, looking at her curiously. Her head turned to the side in an owlish way.

"Yes, well I wish to get this done now so that I may have more free time before bed" Miss Schnee replied with her plastic smile, feeling a mild thumping in her chest.

 _Please, just for once use your head and read the room, Ruby!_

"It's 5 in the evening Weiss" Miss Belladonna quipped. Miss Schnee hoped she couldn't see the way her fingers were tensing slightly around her pen which she only just registered herself from the pain in her digits.

"Yes… well I also made a deal with him, Blake. I am simply honouring his wishes to stay away from him"

 _Please… just stop, both of you…_

"Aw, c'mon Weiss!" Miss Rose Jumped down from her bed, landing with a thump beside Miss Schnee. "Just because you aren't… y'know... talking. Like at all. It doesn't mean you can't help us look! When we find him, you can just go back here and get back on with your boring work!"

Miss R- _Ruby_ was beginning to annoy Miss Schnee. She knew these feelings were incorrect and wrong for her to feel. But Ruby wouldn't let her get rid of these unneeded feelings. Instead she just piled more on top of them. _Blake_ wasn't even trying to stop her, in fact she seemed to be aligned with Ruby's cause.

"Yes. Yes, it does Ruby. Now I would appreciate it if you left me to my work, please?" she smiled again. Miss Schnee was very good at smiling. She had a lot of practice at it when she went to formal gatherings. She knew just how to smile to make the people around her believe whatever she wanted.

So why wouldn't they just stop?

 _Stop._

"Weiss… You gotta talk to Jaune at some point… Running away from your feelings is a bad thing"

 _ **Stop.**_

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ruby"

"Maybe talking to him, will help you? Talking about my feelings always helps me!" Ruby said, sickeningly cheerful in the way she did it.

"No. It won't Ruby. I know it won't" Weiss said in a tone that could have been considered angry to some.

 _SHUT UP!_

"C'mon Weiss! How will ya ever know unless you try?" Ruby continued her assault of stupid words that were stupidly said in a stupidly cheerful voice in Weiss's opinion.

She could feel the mask cracking. She needed to get away from this. Feelings were starting to rise. Feelings that would make her think about certain things. Things she never wanted to think about again.

"…" silence was all that came the Heiress that was gripping the table tight enough to make it creak and groan.

 _ **SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!**_

"I think" Ruby said, moving to place her hand on Weiss's shoulder, oblivious to the fact that Blake was beginning to rise with a worried look on her face. "That I know-"

The hand made contact.

The mask shattered.

In a scream of rage Weiss slapped the hand away from her and stood to get in the face of her leader. "How could you know what it's like to go through this!? How could you know anything!? You're just a stupid girl who doesn't understand, _anything_!" she screeched, watching in pure hatred as she waited for Ruby to speak. But she didn't. Instead she stared at Weiss with her silver eyes. But her eyes weren't the same bright and happy silver as before. They looked oh so slightly dull and sad.

Weiss saw this and all she could think of was a pair of eyes the colour of the sea staring at her in a similar way. They too had looked dull and sad like the girl before her. In that moment Weiss felt guilt so powerful it made her want to vomit.

Blake glared at her from her position, golden eyes boring into her own. Weiss had done it again. She'd hurt people again…

"Ruby… I'm so sorry… that was _horrible_ and _disgusting._ I didn't mean any of it. It's just… it's been so hard" Weiss mumbled, trying her best to think of a way to make it right. She had to! She couldn't do this again, no to someone else! "Please… please don't get upset and cry over what I just said… you really are such a smart person! One of the most gifted people I've ever met at this school!" Weiss looked down, unsure of what else to say.

What else could she say? She was just a terrible person that had already hurt someone and now she had hurt a girl that had done nothing but try to support her. She was disgusting, Winter wouldn't even be able to look at her if she knew what her sister had done! She needed to fix this. She needed to try and show her partner that she didn't hate her! She needed to-

"Hehe… don't worry" she heard Ruby laugh. Looking up she saw the girls' eyes were back to their normal shine. With that smile and laugh, she just knew that Ruby was okay. The little speedster always managed to bounce back somehow and Weiss was yet to be proven otherwise. "I'm just glad you're actually talking to me like a person again. Instead of like a robot" she mentioned, looking mildly embarrassed and annoyed with herself for making such a weird comparison.

Weiss let out a small laugh which turned into a sad sniffle at the end.

"We were all worried about you, Weiss" Blake spoke softly, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. "I understand if you're angry with us… but it was just too hard to watch you do what you were doing to yourself. Ruby was especially worried"

"I… I don't know what to do it's just so… hard" she mumbled, feeling her eyes begin to well up.

"It's okay bestie, we're here to help" Ruby smiled, placing her own hand on Weiss's opposite shoulder.

It was then they heard a knock at the door. Blake moved and opened the it, to see a smiling Yang. It was a gentle and kind smile on her face. Replacing the usual one that brought with it the promise of bad puns and even worse conversation.

"Yo… Weiss" she smiled, gently entering the room to stand before the sniffling and puffy eyed Heiress. "I'm glad to see these two finally managed to get the old you back"

"Hah" she laughed quietly. "It was mostly your sister being… herself" she quipped, earning an annoyed 'hey' from the girl.

"Well… at least you're done pretending to be okay" Yang added, laughing a little at her sisters' expense.

"Yes. I think I'll… be…" Weiss trailed off, earning confused looks from the entire team. When Yang spotted that she was looking towards the open door, she saw why. Yang could have sworn she felt a sliver of ice run down her spine.

There. Stood at the entrance to his door. Was Jaune Arc. Staring at the sight before him like it was all he had ever seen. Specifically, he was staring at the small and frail looking form of Weiss, who in turn stared back at the boy with the dull and sad eyes.

* * *

She could see it all. The anger. The fear. The sadness. The worry. The concern.

He gently reached out a hand, as if to see if she was okay, if she were being honest she may have replied if he did with the emotional state she was in. She may have wept openly and cried into his arms as he would have undoubtedly run to comfort her. She may have held him close and begged him to forgive her for all the horrible things she had done to him. To ask him to let her prove just how sorry she was.

But, as she watched the boy before her, she saw as the worry and the concern were slowly enveloped by everything else. Those eyes which had held, for the briefest of moments, a hint of the old Jaune, turned back to the dull and hollow discs that averted their gaze from the girl. He looked to be in so much pain. Pain caused by just the sight of her. Without a word, he opened the door and, followed by a sad looking Pyrrha, who couldn't seem to look at them either, and quietly shut it again.

RBY stood there for a few tense seconds, unsure of how they could help the last letter in their team as the two girls holding her shoulders felt the shakes from her sadness abruptly stop and the girl stood back to her full and regal pose.

Yang was the first to speak.

"Are… you okay, Weiss?"

Weiss turned around with a smile. A disgustingly fake smile that held the shape of a mask she had only recently shattered. She gently removed herself from the hands of the girls beside her and made her way to the door as quiet as a ghost.

"I'm perfectly fine, Yang" she smiled to the horror and sadness of the rest of the rooms occupants. "I just had a slight slip up, I must be working too hard. I think I'll go take a nice long walk to clear my head. Have a good evening girls" Miss Schnee finished with a smile as she left the room.

There was no point in Miss Schnee getting upset over something like this. After all. She and him were never friends to begin with.

* * *

The door closed quietly, leaving the room suffocating in silence.

Ruby was first to break it, her tears beginning to break loose as she dropped to her knees and clutched at her cloak as she cried.

Yang dropped to meet her and held her close, wanting to make all the bad feelings go away.

"W-We were so close, Yang!" she sniffled, her eyes filled with tears she was trying in vain not to shed. "What do we do? I- I can't s-s-s-stand seeing Weiss and Jaune like this!"

"It'll be okay, sis" she soothed, looking towards the door that had caused so much trouble in the space of a few seconds for them all. She felt the firm hand of Blake holding her shoulder, a smile on the girls' sad face. Returning the smile, Yang's face grew driven and focused as she looked back at her sister. "Big sis has a plan"

* * *

Yang had been walking the halls of Beacon with a purposeful look on her otherwise carefree face for a long time now. She hated having to lie to Weiss and the others about what she was doing, but she was certain they would have tried to stop her otherwise. They couldn't see the big picture. That the only way to solve this problem was to face it head on. They had tried being subtle and nice but that wasn't going to work.

So, she had made her mind up. She was going to find that blonde idiot and drag his scrawny butt back to her team's room and lock those two in there until they talked. She didn't care how long it took, she needed to stop all this crap _now._ It was too hard, watching Weiss silently suffering and from what she'd seen, the idiot was doing the same crap she used to do. Getting angry and exploding at things that didn't need to be. They were both bottling up their emotions and frankly she was sick of it all.

 _Though... m-maybe I could hit the gym later? See if I uh... see if I can get a reaction out of a certain someone if I come back all sweaty and tensed..._ The thought came to her and she found herself twirling her hair between her fingers absentmindedly. _No! Focus Xiao-Long! You can focus on getting the nerve up to ask out your crush later!_

She had been searching for a ridiculously long time at first. She could have found out where he was easily enough by calling one of his team but then they would have known exactly where he was when he didn't turn up at their room later. She had tried asking around the other students if they'd seen him, checking out her and team JNPR's favourite hangout spots, she'd even gone to check the first aid wing in case Cardin and his goons had paid him back for the events of lunch. Then it clicked in her head as to where he would be. There was an old roof she had heard about being a popular place in Beacon to go when you needed to cool off and... hell, the guy kinda sounded like he needed that place _a lot._

Arriving at the door, she pressed her well trained ear to it to listen for the sounds of training. She wasn't disappointed.

She could hear the clang of metal on metal and the crack of a well-placed shield to what she naturally assumed was the blonde knights guts.

"Are you okay, Jaune? When you asked me to do some training with you, I... well i was flattered and happy you were seeking to improve yourself. But now? Now I am simy worried about you. You aren't fighting like yourself, you are lashing out, like you aren't trying to hit just me... please tell me what's wrong, Jaune"

"Heh… yeah... I'm not... okay" Jaune admitted, Yang hearing the tell-take sound of his shield being shrunk and his sword being put away. "Listen, you know I said we needed to talk? Well it's about that and more"

"Oh…" came the suddenly sad voice of the girl crimson hair. "What did you want to talk about? I'll help in any way I can"

"Well, I gotta be honest and admit that I haven't been the best lately. Frankly I've been really bad lately, actually. I honestly didn't know what came over me when I attacked Cardin. I just got so angry that my mind just went blank and then I… did that"

"By 'didn't' I assume you know what's been causing you to be like this?" she replied, Yang heard two quiet thumps as she assumed the two had sat down.

"Yeah, those friends I told you I spoke to? They helped me realise that it's because I've been bottling up my feelings and refusing to admit what happened… really upset me. Frankly I think I'm a bit angry at her for what she said to me. How couldn't I be? Holding all these horrible feelings in is killing me and let's face it... even I'm not dumb enough to not know that's not exactly a good thing. So, I made up my mind to tell someone, besides them, about what I'm feeling right now. That person is you, you're my partner and frankly do more to help me than I imagine most other partners do, so I trust you"

"W-well… thank you! Jaune, I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me about your feelings like this" Yang could practically hear the blush in the girls' voice as she spoke. She might have laughed if it wasn't for the frown on her face at the words Jaune was saying... the guy was feeling like this? That was, no way of sugar coating it, _fucked up._

"No problem. Heh… it's been hard. So hard to not just break down and scream and shout about it all till my voice-box breaks" he explained, the sadness in his voice obvious. "But I haven't. This entire time, I've been forcing myself to hold it in because I didn't want to admit to just how upset I was"

"Jaune… you know I and the rest of our team will always be there for you" Pyrrha soothed him, her voice calm and collected. "If I'm being honest… I am rather upset with Weiss for saying what she did. It was wrong and I honestly think she doesn't deserve to know you're feeling like this" while her voice remained calm, Yang could of sworn she heard the faintest hint of anger in it. No. Not a hint.

This was was Pyrrha, nice as can be and wouldn't hurt a fly outside of combat, Nikos.

To hear _any_ kind of anger from her... to be honest Yang was getting a little worried if Weiss somehow managed to piss her off even more than she already was.

"Well… you know me, Pyr. I'm too stupid to worry about myself!" he laughed half -heartedly. "Honestly, I'm just doing what I can to make both our lives easier. Me loving her and constantly trying to flirt with her was just upsetting her and I can't stand loving her when all I feel when I think of her now… is pain. It hurts so much, Pyrrha. I just want it all to stop" his voice was so drained and tired that Yang struggled to hear him at points. but she caught enough to follow the conversation.

"Talking about things is a good step, I'm glad you're talking about your problems at least, Jaune. Admitting it is the first step"

"I guess you're right" he replied, his voice sounding slightly less drained than before. "It's why I did what I did, telling her to stay away from me and I would stay away from her, so we could both just forget this ever happened. I wasn't sure if it was the right choice, still not sure to be honest, but I made it. Those friends I told you about, told me that I should try and talk to her again after things settle down in about a week. Give us both time to come to terms with what was said. Frankly I could tell at least one of them didn't agree with my choice, but I just have to live with it. Just like my other stupid mistake"

"What 'other' mistake, Jaune? Do you mean… loving her?" the voice of Pyrrha, gently asked, seemingly worried that the boy next to her would shatter like glass if she asked him the wrong question. There was also something else... Yang didn't want to think bad of Pyrrha for letting it cross her mind but, was there a little _hope_ in her voice?

"Nope. Not that. Honestly, I think a small part of me still does. It's probably why I'm like this partly. Sucks, I know but not much I can do about it" He sighed a tired sigh, like he was done with just… everything. "I mean coming to Beacon, Pyrrha"

"What!?" Pyrrha near shouted, as Yang heard her shift quickly, probably to position herself in front of him. It's what she would have done if Ruby had said something like that. "What do you mean!? Jaune, you belong here just as much as anybody else does!"

"No. No I don't" came his simple reply. It was attached to a ball of barely hidden emotions that Yang could tell but Pyrrha, in her upset state, couldn't.

"Why would you say that Jaune? Is it… Is it because of Weiss?" this time, Yang definitely heard the slight tone of anger in her voice. "If so then you should just ignore her. You are just as qualified as anyone else. You just need a bit more training and you'll be as good as the rest of us" she was trying to sound confident and reassuring but for once, Pyrrha seemed to be a ball of emotions herself.

"That wont help, Pyrrha…" he muttered, his tone of voice suggesting he was on the brink of releasing those built up emotions again.

"Why though, Jaune?" she pleaded, her voice full of worry. "You said you trusted me so, please. Trust me enough to tell me"

"I faked my transcripts, okay!?" he shouted, his voice bursting with those emotions Yang had been sensing. "I Faked my transcripts to get here… I thought that I could just come here, with next to no training, or special powers or even being able to understand half the things you guys talk about most of the time! I thought I could a hero like the rest of family… magically get good at hunting Grimm, rise to be a great hunter, meet a pretty girl who liked me back and make my mom and dad proud to call me their son… I just… I thought I could prove I wasn't a failure of an Arc. But clearly, I can't do anything right. I'm terrible at fighting, I'm struggling at best in my grades and the pretty girl I fall in love with? All I did was hurt and upset her. I don't deserve to be here, I ended up causing someone as kind and caring and amazing as you to be stuck as my partner when you deserve to be with someone who can actually be of use to you and our team, instead of dragging you down. _You_ and Weiss deserve better"

Yang was at a loss for words as she listened to his own. Jaune had faked his transcripts to be here!? He had lied and gotten into a combat school where he could die at nearly any moment with no combat experience and apparently, from what she could tell from what he'd said, no aura or semblance either!? All because he wanted to make his family proud of him... She could hear it in his voice, just how much he hated himself for doing what he'd done and a near tortured want to do it anyway.

She honestly wasn't sure whether to beat him into next week for lying to all of them for so long or to be impressed that the idiot had such drive to prove he could be great like his family. What she did know though, was that right now, he needed a hug and if Pyrrha walked away now Yang was going to beat her the crap out of her with her own shield. Sometimes she hated her big sister instincts but, at times like this, she knew she needed them.

"Is that what you seriously think?" Pyrrha spoke up and Yang physically relaxed, the dread of her walking away from Jaune gone as the girl clearly had no intention of leaving. "Jaune. It doesn't matter to me if you faked your transcripts to get here. You may not have been much when you got here but look at how far you've come already. You're so much stronger and faster than you used to be. You are every bit of a hunter as the rest of us. More in the case of… certain individuals, because you have a heart. You show more care and kindness to those around you than anyone I know. A true hunter is someone that puts others before themselves. Someone who will do their best to ensure others are okay before they even think to take care of themselves. You, Jaune, embody these truths. Never forget that. Also… I want you to know that I'm _proud_ to be the partner of someone as brave as you, Jaune"

Yang heard a sniffle at first, but it soon turned into a torrent of whales and sobs which were suddenly muffled slightly. Yang Knew Pyrrha had pulled him into a hug. After all, the big idiot was clearly someone who needed a lot of them.

"Th-thank you… Pyrrha…" he croaked, it was clearly all he could do.

They stayed like that for a little while, Yang taking her leave when she heard them pull apart. She knew now wasn't the time to make him talk to Weiss, maybe tomorrow instead.

She had quickly moved through the halls, trying to build up a sweat as she darted back to her room so as the appear she had actually done some training.

When she got to the door, she heard what sounded like a sniffle and stayed her hand from pushing the door open just yet as she listened.

" _We were all worried about you, Weiss"_ Yang heard Blake say, her mind instantly focusing all it's attention on the voices at the mention of Weiss _"I understand if you're angry with us… but it was just too hard to watch you do what you were doing to yourself. Ruby was especially worried"_

" _I… I don't know what to do it's just so… hard"_ she heard Weiss reply, her voice sounding shaky and upset. Yang's heart jumped, they'd actually gotten through to her! Finally!

" _It's okay bestie, we're here to help"_ She heard her little ray of Sunshine of a sister trying to cheer up Weiss.

Yang smiled, maybe she wouldn't have to resort to nabbing Vomit boy if Weiss had been willing to finally open up. She knocked on the door gently and it was opened by a smiling Blake.

It had all gone down-hill from there.

They didn't need to exchange words for Yang to tell what was happening between the two. She saw it in their faces. Jaune had looked so upset and torn when he saw Weiss stood there, clearly an emotional mess. He had clearly wanted to come up and ask her what was wrong, to hug her and try and make her feel better. But then he suddenly looked so sad and upset again, turning away and going into his room with a sad looking Pyrrha.

Weiss had looked at him with a mix of worry, apprehension and… hopefulness. She seemed to be silently begging him to come closer. To ask if she was okay and all the things Yang knew he wanted to do. She looked about ready to break down in his arms when he looked at her with those eyes of his. But when his face had grown sad and he'd turned away, Weiss seemed to go unnaturally still.

She had turned to Yang's worry for her with a sight that broke her heart and made her blood boil. That damn fake smile she had finally gotten rid of was back. Those damn eyes that were so cold and lifeless were back as well. All her walls had come flying back up and she had simply smiled at Yang and made a polite response and left with that sickeningly fake smile on her face.

After comforting and calming down Ruby and giving a reassuring smile to Blake, Yang simply got up and flopped down onto her bed in thought.

She had a sleepless night ahead of her.

Letting those two try and sort things out on their own would never work. Yang made her choice on what to do that night.

Yang began to put her plan into motion by sending an important message to a certain someone she knew would be willing to help.

Yang wasn't going to let this go on for one more day. Not if she could do anything about it.

 **Whelp. Shit. Next chapters going to be… interesting to say the least.**

 **As I'm still stuck in bed with my knee you folks may be lucky and get your update by tomorrow or the day after considering this one will take a lot of thought.**

 **See ya all then, Elderfire1**


	10. A match to a Bonfire

_**EDITED**_

 _ **Phew! First big change, we never liked how we ended the chapter and went back and made it a little less... OOC, that's the only way we can describe it**_

 **Warning. I advise tissues and blankets for anyone reading this chapter as I've been a cruel motherfucker.**

 **That is all.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 10**

 **A match to the bonfire**

Waking up that morning was not a fun thing to do for Jaune. It wasn't just because the sun had chosen to shine right in his eyes that morning. Neither was it the intense knowledge that he really didn't want to have to face yet another Monday. It wasn't even the fact that he could hear the exited giggles and chewing of Nora who was already awake and demolishing the rest of the 'celebration' pancakes that she'd had Ren make last night in celebration of him attacking Cardin. Frankly that was one thing Jaune would have loved to forget.

He didn't like Cardin by any means, the guy was a bully and jerk who took personal pleasure out of making people miserable. He especially loved to attack the Faunus students, apparently his ancestor had fought and died during the human-Faunus wars. That didn't give him any right to attack people though, in fact it made him worse as he decided to take it out those who weren't even alive during the war.

But then again, who was Jaune to condemn his actions when he himself had attacked Cardin viscously and without mercy when he could have simply gotten a member of staff instead? Jaune just wanted to forget it all... forget what he'd done to him because he couldn't help but feel the small amount of disgust he felt in himself.

There was one thing that he wanted to forget more though. It was also the reason that he wasn't looking forward to getting up.

Weiss Schnee. Or rather the thought of having the possibility to run into her today. The image of Weiss standing in her room last night still made him wince internally.

Looking so sad and broken with obvious tears hidden in her dull eyes, she'd looked so frail, as if his touch would shatter her. But when he'd stared at her in disbelief, she'd stared back, her eyes wide and full of emotions she had been doing her best to hide.

The beat had grown rapid and strong as he'd stared at her. Smashing and crashing and thundering against the walls of the room they were encased by. Every time he'd looked at her slightly reddened eyes, every time he'd took note of how much her small and delicate hands were shaking. Every _single_ time _,_ he'd seen her lips quiver as she'd clearly struggled to ask him a seemingly impossible question, the words laying just on the tip of her tongue yet unable to get loose of the pale red bars that refused to open. Every time he'd seen these things the thrum of the song got louder and louder and **louder** till it hurt just to be near her while she was in such a state.

He hadn't even realised his hand was raising up towards her, reaching out to take hold of her, to try and take away the pain. Was it still so instinctual to try and make all her worries go away, for him? To want to make her smile and show her proud nature once again? Apparently so.

Yet he stopped his arms before they could completely reach her, his muscles almost aching as they tried to go against him but he somehow found the will to stop himself.

Who was he to try and comfort her as he about to try and do? She clearly didn't want to be around him... That _had_ to be true, he knew all he ever did was make her angry and upset. The way she'd scoffed at him when he'd offer her, flowers, shout at him when he tried to talk to her and make her laugh, the complete disgust in her eyes as she'd stared at him from above as he kneeled in front of her.

The beat had grown dark and quiet as he lowered his arm, dipping his eyes to the floor and entering his room without a word followed by a silent Pyrrha who closed the door behind them.

He'd stood just in front of the door for a little while, earning nervous looks from Nora and Ren, trying to make his heart calm down since he felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.

"Jaune?" Ren had asked with a surprising amount of emotion in his usually stoic voice. "Are you okay?"

"C'mon, Jauney. Talk to us" Nora had smiled, her usually cheery and bright nature turning serious and gentle as she'd looked at him.

"Heh… No, I'm not okay. But I will be" he smiled weakly back at them all, knowing it was now or never. "Listen guys, I need to speak to you about something very important. So, I need you both, especially you Nora, to promise what I'm about to say will never leave this room, okay?" He'd asked, looking at his team for their agreement.

Nora had nodded instantly. "Anything you want kept secret from our enemies, stays secret!"

Ren had a look of confusion cross his face for the briefest of moments before his calm returned and he let a small smile grace his features. "Of course, Jaune"

Letting out a rather shaky sigh of relief, Jaune had tried to put into words just what he was about to say. It had been the tender and strong hand of Pyrrha being placed on his shoulder with a smile from the girl herself that had helped Jaune to get the mess of thoughts in his head under control.

Then he explained it all to them. His faked transcripts, his lying to them all about his abilities and that he'd had any form of training besides his father attempting to show him swordsmanship before giving up after jaune made no progress what so ever.

He had honestly expected to get thrown out the nearest window by an angry Nora, despite Pyrrha being confident that he was going to be fine and that they would understand. Instead he had seen an amused looking Ren and a deadpan look from Nora.

"If you think I didn't notice that you were… less gifted in the art of combat and being a huntsman in general, then you aren't giving me enough credit. I was aware that something was off about your attendance here Jaune. But I knew you would tell us in time, so I didn't ask you outright. It doesn't change that you are our leader Jaune. This team needs you, and frankly, I doubt Nora will let you get away at this point" Ren had smiled, enjoying his little joke as had the rest of the team who laughed quietly.

"Afraid he's right, Jauney! You know too much to let you get away now!" The wild ginger girl had said in an imperious voice. "If you were to leave, who would make chef Ren cook me pancakes when he thinks that I've had enough, I've never had enough by the way" she staged whispered, Jaune then realising she was doing it to cheer him up. "Long story short though Jaune, we don't care how you got in. All that we care about is that you're our leader and our friend. That's all that matters!" she'd the proceeded to pull the blonde knight into a bear hug, only letting go when Ren had pointed out that Jaune was going blue.

After that, things had gotten a little emotional and happy as they talked it all out and Jaune had allowed himself to briefly forget about the scene he'd just witnessed outside his door.

Unfortunately, as his team all got ready for bed and slowly drifted off to sleep, Jaune was left alone again with his thoughts.

As he'd lay in bed that night, a singular thought ran through his mind. One that made him think back to what he'd admitted when he'd spoken to Coco and Velvet. He was angry. He was angry at Weiss for being so nasty and cruel to him. it was the realisation of this that prompted a thought that made him angry at himself for even thinking. _Yet he did._

Who was she to deserve his worry?

He had fallen asleep at this thought, his brain deciding it didn't want to him to continue to think on it any longer. What he'd seen though, as his eyes slowly drifted to sleep, was the faint glow of a scroll.

Last nights' thoughts were still prevalent in his mind as he stared vacantly at the ceiling. He had to push these aside though, no matter what Coco and Velvet had said, his team came first and foremost. Thinking about such things would only cause more problems for them. So he had to put on a brave face for them.

Attempting to force his body to move so that he could get his day started, Jaune turned his head to the side to find the face of the munching Nora staring back at him. Her seemingly perpetually happy face, less than a hair's breadth from his own.

"AH!" Jaune yelled, flying out of his bed in a panic, hitting the floor with a decisive thump and a groan of pain from the startled knight.

"Morning, Fearless Leader!" came her cheery voice, her one hand full of pancake while the other returning her scroll to her jacket pocket. "Ready to face the day of excitement and conquest ahead of us!? We, your valiant warriors, will stop at nothing to crush any man or woman who dares question your place at our noble school!"

"Nora. It's a little early to be getting this loud" came the quiet and well-spoken voice of the tired Lie Ren, Nora's sudden outburst and the resulting yelling from both her and Jaune, who she'd just scared half to death, had unfortunately awoken the remainder of his team.

Ren sat up from his corpse like pose, his body held straight and still as had slept, gingerly opening his eyes with just a hint of worry that Nora was on another sugar rush. He was thankful to a major degree to find it was simply Nora being Nora. Though he assumed from the yell of Jaune he'd heard, that he owed their leader an apology on behalf of

Pyrrha on the other hand, seemed to awaken like a princess, her hair, face and general appearance making it seem she had been up and gotten ready long before anyone else had even arisen. She made a gentle stretch and opened her eyes to scan the suddenly very loud room.

"Good morning everyone" she said in a slightly tired, yet still cheerful voice before looking over to find Jaune's bed mysteriously empty. "Nora? Would you happen to know where Jaune is?"

Before the berserker of team JNPR could reply, the pale hand of Jaune shot up from the side of his bed. Giving a thumbs up the general direction of Pyrrha.

"Oh. Good… morning, Jaune? Why are you on the floor?" she enquired, worried he may have had a nightmare or something.

"Scary ginger monsters appearing beside my bed" he called out sarcastically, earning a more than shocked look from Nora.

"You think I'm scary!? Aaawww, you'll make me blush, Fearless Leader!" she grinned, deciding to haul said leader to his feet. Resulting in Jaune nearly going flying into the nearest wall.

"Thanks, Nora" he groaned, attempting to put his arm back into socket. He looked around and saw that Nora was already dressed and ready for the day surprisingly. Normally it was a challenge for even Ren to get her to wake up before it was _absolutely,_ necessary. Ren and Pyrrha were still waking up and would likely still be in bed for a few more minutes. Taking this as his cue, Jaune made his move. "I'm gonna hit the shower, okay?" he called, already making his way towards said shower.

He heard a chorus of 'okay' and 'sure' as he entered the bathroom.

Not exactly looking forward to the day ahead of him for multiple reasons.

If he knew what was going to occur that afternoon, he would have never left that bathroom.

* * *

Miss Schnee sat at her desk next to her team with a small smile upon her face. Such was allowed to happen in her current situation. A paper she had completed a few weeks ago had gotten full marks and had landed her squarely at the top of the class, along with the praise of Doctor Oobleck and looks she received from the rest of the class, meant she allowed herself to show this small display of emotion. Father would be pleased, she had done her duty to the company and her family.

After the events of last night, she had decided to take a nice walk to clear her head. All that bother to Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna about being in emotional distress must have simply been her getting overworked. That was the conclusion Miss Schnee came to as she walked the grounds of Beacon. She was _not_ upset about the events that had occurred last night or the nights before. What would she have to be upset about?

 _Why didn't he speak to me?_

It wasn't like she was opposed to the idea of not speaking to him. it made perfect sense. They caused constant strife for one another and he had evidently realised that and had come up with a rather intelligent idea. They would not speak to each other. They would avoid each other and simply pretend the other didn't exist. It was perfect. Miss Schnee would not have to deal with him constantly attempting to woo her anymore, which showed no personal gain for the company or the family despite his family's status at any rate. What use would her father or company have for a slightly well-off family of huntsman who didn't even own a business of their own or have experience working for one? None.

 _Why did he just turn away when I clearly wanted to speak to him?_

He on the other hand would be able to move on with his life and find some other girl to 'love'. Apparently, she brought him pain to be near and so her not being near him was a good thing. So, in hindsight and from a practical point of view, they had done the right thing. Him being there last night had been a minor slip up in their agreement. One which he had quickly rectified by going into his room and leaving Miss Schnee alone. Something she was _happy_ about to be sure.

 _Didn't he care that I was in pain? He always seemed to care so much…_

Miss Schnee felt a small thump in her chest again. it was odd. It had been occurring whenever she thought of him since last night. It was no matter though. Such things didn't matter to an Heiress of her calibre.

With her smile from earlier, Miss Schnee stood with the rest of class as the bell rung to symbolize the time to head to the next lesson which was a combat orientated one that Miss Schnee was glad to attend. She hadn't had the chance to use her combat abilities for a while and her tutors back in Atlas would be oh so disappointed if her skills began to lax.

The rest of her team seemed to hold the same excitement which was a welcome change from them constantly asking if she was alright, seeming to think something was wrong with her, which it certainly wasn't. The only oddity she saw was Miss Xiao Long who seemed to be taking constant and fleeting glances at Miss Schnee whenever she thought she wasn't looking. It was a rather odd thing alone, but the smirk that the girl couldn't seem to hide made it even more so. Perhaps Miss Xiao Long sought to fight her today? It would make for an interesting fight. Miss Schnee's speed and grace against Miss Xiao Long's brute strength and durability.

If Miss Schnee were to beat her, it would be a success for her. To beat a fighter of the calibre of Miss Xiao Long would ascend her to the tops of the combat classes, alongside Miss Nikos of course, as well as the regular classes. That would certainly impress father and sister.

As she rose to leave, Miss Schnee spotted a familiar face amongst the crowd that made that odd rhythmic thump return.

He was busy talking to his team as he too made to leave for their next class. As he moved, his head turned to the right angle to spot Miss Schnee sparing a glance at him.

 _Please, don't ignore me again. Please don't… look so upset to see me_

Upon viewing Miss Schnee, his eyes immediately diverted from her and he returned to his conversation as if nothing had happened. It was odd, the thumping hadn't stopped yet had taken a different tune. It seemed to be slightly painful to Miss Schnee as she watched him walk away with his friends.

 _Do you really hate me that much? Do I mean nothing to you anymore?_

Miss Schnee took no heed of the incident and moved on. Another slip up that he had resolved yet again. Miss Schnee was rather impressed by how well he was doing in keeping to his part of the deal.

"So, Weiss" Miss Xiao Long said, turning around to talk not her while keeping her walking up by going backwards. "You look pretty… different today, you doing okay?" she asked, the odd smile on her face never leaving.

"Of course," Miss Schnee smiled, confused yet again as to why her team insisted upon asking about her well-being. "I am perfectly fine as always Yang, I am simply happy with my scores on the test and the fact that we will soon be able to test out our combat skills yet again" Miss Schnee replied with a calm and practiced smile.

"Good, good" Miss Xiao Long replied, turning back around to the confused looks of the other half of the team. "Just checking, is all"

The rest of the walk to the arena was in comfortable silence in Miss Schnee's opinion. Though her partners constant fidgeting and not at all concealed glances said the opposite. Miss Schnee felt no need to ask her though, it would do her no good to go prying into her leaders' personal quirks or the such.

Finally arriving at the arena, they were greeted by an annoyed and rather tired looking Miss Goodwitch who simply nodded her head as her class greeted her. Her emerald eyes scanning the room as she stared at the room.

Miss Schnee felt respect and admiration for the combat teacher. She was a powerful and high-class woman, who carried herself with all the pride and dignity of a queen. Only a fool would not respect someone like Miss Goodwitch and Miss Schnee was no fool.

"First up" Miss Goodwitch said in her imperious voice. "Yang Xiao Long vs Carmine Torrez, prepare yourselves and meet in the arena in five minutes"

"Hell yeah!" Miss Xiao Long grinned, punching her fists together in joy. "Wish me luck, Blakey" she smiled, leaving Miss Belladonna with a rather odd look on her face.

Miss Schnee was not one to agree with the behaviour of Miss Xiao Long, but what would her interfering or attempting to help her team member get her in the end? Nothing but embarrassment and regret. So frankly she saw no point in the exercise.

 _It always does no matter what I do._

Instead, Miss Schnee resigned herself to wait patiently and half listen to the conversation of her excited and immature partner while Miss Belladonna made polite and short replies to her antics. Miss Schnee hoped this fight would provide her useful insight.

In truth Miss Schnee did not know what she had expected.

Mr Torrez was a large and powerfully built young man with shockingly dark, red hair which was styled into a dreadlock fashion. With dark skin and near entirely white attire, composed of a sleeveless shirt that hugged his bulging muscles and a pair of tight trousers which met with a pair of black combat boots with spikes on the steel caps. He posed an intimidating sight. In his hands he carried a large, battle axe with a mighty head standing about two a foot in length on its' own. It seemed to be able to shift into a pair of short, bladed double barrel shotguns. If Miss Schnee was just a run of the mil student, she would have bet on the man that stood a foot taller than his opponent who was eyeing him with a carefree smirk.

Fortunately, though. Miss Schnee wasn't just a run of the mill student. She was an Heiress raised to be able to read a room and instantly spot the most powerful and dangerous people in the room. It was this that Miss Schnee knew who the winner would be.

She had at least hoped that the fight wouldn't be so quick.

In less than thirty seconds, Miss Xiao Long had smashed through Mr Torrez's defences, near bending his axe in half and landing a series of crushing blows to his stomach and torso. His aura had dropped into the red in mere moments and Miss Goodwitch called a halt to the fight. Praising them both and pointing out flaws in the technique. It was expected when Miss Goodwitch seemed to have a lot more to say about Mr Torrez's flaws than Miss Xiao Long.

Miss Rose flew into a frenzy of praise and cheers as she cried out her praises to her sister who winked and grinned at her in turn.

Miss Belladonna gave a rather surprising cheer of her own, though it was notably much quieter than the girl beside her.

Giving in to good manners, Miss Schnee clapped her hands politely and offered a smile to Miss Xiao Long, who took note of this and her smile seemed to dim for the slightest of moments before it grew into her wild grin again.

The rest of the fights had been rather boring for Miss Schnee, though she kept up appearances, as was only proper, and clapped politely after each bout as the winner was announced.

Her boredom was halted however when Miss Goodwitch called out the next set of combatants.

"Final fight: Jaune Arc vs Sky Lark! Get ready and return in five minutes"

Miss Schnee heard the chorus of cheers from the remaining members of team JNPR. The cries being mainly from Miss Valkyrie, though she did hear some from Miss Nikos as well.

After a brief wait, the combatants came forth.

Mr Lark had pale skin and an overall thin body type. His long hair and eyes were a pale blue, with said hair being combed back to curl around his neck slightly. His garments were a set of bland looking plate armour of dark and light greys, it seemed more for practicality than appearance. Beneath this, Mr Lark wore a black V-neck shirt and a set of black trousers that hung on his small frame of a body.

In his hands he carried a large and imposing halberd, with an inward curving axe head on the one side while a smaller spike protruded from the other. At closer inspection it seemed that the weapon had a functionality similar to Crescent Rose in that it appeared to have a firing mechanism and a barrel at the end of its' shaft.

 _He…_ looked ready for combat. Sword and shield drawn, armour worn correctly.

Just as Mr Lark was about to enter the arena, Mr Winchester appeared behind him and seemed to speak to him briefly, a worried expression on his face. Mr lark however seemed to disregard his words, with him pushing off from his annoyed looking leader and shaking his head with a rather sinister smile.

"Begin!" shouted Miss Goodwitch.

Immediately Mr Lark unleashed multiple rounds from the end of his Halberd which were stopped when _he_ pulled up his shield in a rather worried fashion and blocked the blows, charging forward to meet his opponent. Showing a surprising amount of acrobatics, Mr Lark easily jumped _his_ charge by using his weapon as a pole to vault over and landed behind _him_ delivering a punishing blow to _him_ who landed on the floor with a pained grunt. _He_ wasn't down for long however as he quickly spun his sword around, forcing Mr Lark to jump back from the attack to his feet. Taking the moment to stand, _he_ was met with a viscous round of attacks from Mr Lark's Halberd's axe. The ringing as _he_ hid behind his shield to avoid the punishing blows. This was to be _his_ undoing however as Mr Lark managed to hook the spike of his weapon around _his_ shield and pulled it free from _his_ grasp and sent it skittering across the floor. Instead of panicking, as Miss Schnee expected, _he_ didn't faulter and struck forward with a powerful slash that landed squarely on Mr Lark's shoulder, sending his reeling from the strike.

 _He_ went in for another strike that nicked Mr Lark's leg and another to his hand, Mr Lark's aura dropping rather quickly from the sustained attacks that juts kept coming, hitting him in any available area to _him._

 _Where did he get this skill from?_

 _His_ luck didn't seem to hold however as Mr Lark seemed to get a second wind and knocked the attacking sword to the side and stabbed forwards with his weapon, striking _him_ squarely in the chest and used the force to shove _him_ to the floor, weapon trained over _his_ heart.

Instead of attacking or forcing _him_ to concede defeat, Mr Lark seemed to sneer at _him_ and spoke words that Miss Schnee couldn't quite hear over the roar of the crowd.

At first _his_ face seemed to be one anguish at defeat, yet as Mr Lark spoke, that face grew darker and darker. _His_ mouth turned into a toothy snarl and _his_ eyes seeming to hold a fury that even took Miss Schnee by surprise. _He_ began to talk back at Mr Lark, lips moving in slow and purposeful movements. As Miss Schnee watched, she noted that Mr Lark seemed to become less confident, his arrogant bravado disappearing. In a turn of anger, Mr Lark growled back a response. _He_ stopped speaking, instead a white glow began to emanate from his body.

In a sudden turn of events, Mr Lark was knocked to the ground by a powerful leg sweep, as he fell _he_ delivered a punishing punch to Mr Lark's face that crackled with a veil of aura so strong it caused those in the audience closest to the fight to cover their eyes.

Mr Lark crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, the room growing silent as they watched his aura level drop into the red.

"The winner is Jaune Arc!" Miss Goodwitch, announced and the room seemed to erupt into cheers as _he_ seemed to be recovering from a daze, shaking _his_ head a looking at the crowd in astonishment. A smile appearing on his face.

 _He seems so happy..._

Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long along with the female members of team JNPR were the loudest in the room, the cries of praise and happiness causing Miss Schnee's head to hurt and polite praise from Mr Lie who clapped and offered a sincere smile to his leader.

Miss Schnee attempted to give her praise as well, raising her hands to clap, but was surprised to find that she seemingly couldn't bring herself to. It was rude and above all below her, but no matter her attempts, she seemingly couldn't make herself clap for _his_ victory.

 _You know why..._

After a brief discussion about their performance, both fighters were sent to re-join their teams.

Mr Lark receiving a smack on the head from Mr Winchester, and _him_ being grabbed in a tight hug by Miss Valkyrie who didn't seem to notice the audible crunch from her leader.

"Well, that was fun!" Miss Xiao Long shouted, getting up and placing her hands on her hips. "Now that it's _finally_ the end of the day, how about we go relax in our room? After all, I think I need to bask in my badass-ness just a bit longer before we head for dinner"

She was greeted by the exasperated groans of Miss Rose and the eyeroll of Miss Belladonna who badly hid a small smile. They both agreed to her idea happily, however. Miss Xiao Long then turned her sights upon Miss Schnee.

"How about you, Weiss? Wanna head back?" she questioned, something about the way she looked at Miss Schnee and smiled at her sending warning signs throughout her head.

The idea did appeal to Miss Schnee however, she could gain even more of a leap in revision and it would have been rude to refuse Miss Xiao Long's idea, no matter how odd the look she gave Miss Schnee.

"I see no problem with that" she replied, smiling at Miss Xiao Long.

"Good! Now c'mon guys!" she hollered, Miss Schnee and the others rising to follow the happy blonde.

* * *

Jaune wasn't sure what had happened in the brief moment between him and his team getting up and heading back to their room to allow Nora to, yet again, celebrate his victory over Sky. It wasn't a victory he was proud of to be honest, not with how he'd won and he knew he'd have to talk to Coco and Velvet about it at a later point. But who was he to stop Nora when she was so happy? Frankly, his entire team seemed to be happy. After the events of last night, he assumed they were all happy that Jaune had been open with and trusted them enough to know the truth about his acceptance into Beacon. Frankly they had been nothing but supportive this entire time and it warmed his heart to know his team was so accepting of him.

What happened next however made his head spin, literally. Yang and Nora had seemed to bump into one another despite clearly knowing the other was there, sending them flying. Nora tumbling into Jaune and Yang falling back into the shocked looking Weiss. The resulting crash drew intense laughter from the rest of the students around them who grinned at their accident, not that Jaune cared too much, instead trying his best to tell Nora to get off of him without making her think he was calling fat... he still remembered what happened to the last guy who said that...

The collective groans from the people caught in the fall were heard loud and clear throughout the room. The remaining members of their collective teams all scrambled to help them up but were waved off by the hands of Nora and Yang.

Yang was the first to recover, getting up and apologising to the mildly annoyed looking Weiss who told her to be more careful in an oddly kind tone for her, it was a tone he'd never heard her use. If he was being frank, it slightly unnerved him. He had expected screaming, shouting and Weiss not caring if she called Yang fat in her attempts to get her off of her. Jaune himself, still stuck under Nora, was not too sure how best to say that he felt like he was being squashed into the floor.

She didn't seem all that worried as Jaune gasped for breath, smiling cheerfully as she slowly removed herself from him, much to his relief. Getting up slowly, he shot her a mildly annoyed look and sighed. "Mind explaining why you just tried to make me into a pancake?" he asked her, eyes shooting wide in worry as the girl picked up on a certain word in that sentence. "I am not. I repeat, I am _not_ a pancake" he said in loud and clear way, crossing his arms into a _big_ 'X'.

"Awwww…" she grumbled, kicking her foot against the floor in a show of her disappointment. "Sorry, Jauney! Guess I wasn't being careful around with where I was going!" she replied, her beaming smile turned up to eleven as she looked at him with her best innocent look, before directing her gaze towards the two girls she'd knocked over. "Sorry to you too Yang, Weiss! Guess I got excited after Jaune delivered swift justice to the enemy!"

"No prob" Yang replied, smiling despite the fact she'd just risked her precious hair being stepped on. "Accidents happen"

"Yes, they do" Weiss replied simply, her face barely showing any emotion besides a thin smile. "Please be more careful in future, however"

 _Just what the heck is up with her? She's not acting normal… you know what? None of my business_ Jaune mentally told himself. The last thing he needed was to make things weirder between them. He had to listen to Coco's advice, if he felt like he could talk to Weiss after a couple weeks. Frankly he wasn't sure if he felt like he could.

"Okey-doke, Weiss!" Nora replied, seeming to not notice the way Weiss was acting. Turning around to join an embarrassed looking Pyrrha, a mildly aching Jaune and a solemn as usual Ren.

"Yo, Jaune? Sorry about getting you crushed there, you okay?" Yang called as team JNPR moved to attempt to leave the room. Jaune half turned, giving her a rather sheepish smile. His eyes naturally averting from the blank faced girl beside her, instead focusing on the beaming blonde herself.

Every time he even caught a glimpse of her in the corner of his eye, he could feel it.

The beat would begin to rise and rumble like thunder, crashing against the mental dam he'd constructed to try and stop him feeling the emotions he desperately didn't want to feel, the last thing he needed was to make someone feel the need to give him a hug or try and console him. That was when the really bad emotions started to come out and he didn't want to feel those emotions any time soon.

"Yeah… nothing but a few cracked ribs!" he joked, offering what even he knew was a bad attempt at a smile. He didn't want to be here. He didn't feel ready to be this close to… _her_.

Yang followed by Nora's example, however and didn't seem to take note of this. Instead she simply smiled and nodded her head. "Well, least I won't lose sleep knowing I helped to cripple an up and coming badass!" she joked back, her eyes full of mischief and mayhem that could only be matched by his own team's resident berserker. "Anyway, seems like you guys need to be off, talk later okay?" she more told the team in front of her than asked and they were frankly unsurprised, Yang was a social creature who enjoyed being surrounded by people. Not being able to talk to them must have been annoying the heck out of her.

"Of course, it's been far too long" Pyrrha replied politely, a smile gracing her lips.

"Too right!" Ruby yelled, appearing behind her big sister. "You guys aren't gonna get away that easily!" she laughed, and Jaune couldn't help but smile at her infectious happiness. It was a nice reprieve from the slump he'd been in.

 _Good._ Jaune thought, as he and his team all waved their goodbye's to RWBY who in turn, aside from a certain member all waved back. _Nice to know this whole thing hasn't stopped them wanting to be our friends… that's a bonus at least._

After their impromptu reunion with team RWBY, team JNPR were once again, relaxing in their room. The day had been hard and frankly they all seemed to be content with just lazing about their beds.

Jaune was busy lying down on his bed, simply relaxing after reading one of his 'X-ray and Vav' comics. He didn't really feel like doing much, so instead of finding something physical to do, he instead took a glance over to see what the rest of his team were getting up to.

Nora was blasting music into her ears through a vibrant pink headset while scrolling through her scroll on an apparent mission to find cute pictures of sloth's. She seemed to be obsessed with them and the noises they make. Frankly Jaune wasn't too sure as to what noises a sloth would make, but he was certain none of the sounds Nora made were even close to what they sounded like.

Ren was busy practising his meditation. When he'd been questioned by Jaune as to why he was doing it in there… less than quiet room, he'd stated 'Some people choose to meditate under large waterfalls to train their concentration and perseverance, I choose an equally loud and distracting environment to train mine' this had earned a hurt sounding 'hey!' from Nora who gave him a mild glare that came off as more of a pout before slipping on her headset again.

Pyrrha on the other hand was busy polishing her weapons, Milo and Akouo to give them a perfect and godly shine. She took great care of her weapons and armour and it was one of the things she seemed to really enjoy as she spent her time meticulously buffing out any sign of imperfection in her arsenal. Jaune was glad to have a friend like Pyrrha who cared enough to help him with his short comings. Be it combat or classes, she seemed to always have the time for him. Honestly Jaune was a bit worried that people would get the wrong idea and think that Pyrrha had a crush on him. Like that would ever happen.

It was in this moment of Jaune thinking about the little ways his friends seemed to spend their time, that Pyrrha's scroll began to buzz. In a movement so fluid she may as well have been water, Pyrrha carefully placed down her shield with one hand and picked up her scroll in the other without even pausing or slowing her movements.

"Oh… it's my agent" she said, her smile dimming ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, but I have to take this" she said with an apologetic look to her team.

"No worries, Pyrrha, just try not to break his heart when you turn down yet another one of his offers to convince Ozpin to let him hang Pumpkin Pete banners around the school" Jaune smiled, earning a light giggle from the Spartan as she left to deal with the man on the other end of the device. He could deal with all his crappy emotions later if it meant making his team smile like he just did with Pyrrha.

Realizing he now had nothing to do again, Jaune made to grab his scroll from his pocket, only to find the device gone.

"Huh?" Jaune remarked, looking confused as he began to pat down the rest of his pockets in search of the illusive device.

Nora seemed to perk up at spotting him doing this.

"Whatya up to, Fearless Leader?" she questioned, removing her headset to look at him, a certain twinkle in her eye. "Lose something?"

"Yeah… my scroll, I could have sworn I put it back in my pocket after my fight" he replied, half focusing on her words as began to look through his bed sheets to see if he'd dropped it in there.

"Hrmm… maybe you dropped it when we all fell in the arena?" she offered, seemingly interested in a thread of fabric that was sticking out of her shorts.

"You know, I bet you're right!" Jaune smiled, getting up and nodding a thanks to her, a beaming smile on his face. "This is why I'm glad to be you're my friend!" he said before darting out of the room to retrieve his lost device.

* * *

A smile crept upon Nora's face, she seemed oddly happy with herself which didn't go unnoticed by her partner.

"Okay, what did you do?" he asked, making the girl jump at his sudden voice.

"What, I can't be a good buddy to Jauney, without some ulterior motive? I'm hurt, Ren. I thought you trusted me more…" she pouted, her lower lip wobbling as she did.

Ren felt his stomach lurch, why? Why did she have to pull _that_ face? He couldn't help but feel bad as she let out a cute huff as she crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, you're right" he said, trying to cheer her up.

Her change in emotion was near instantaneous as her head whipped up with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Aww, thanks Renny!" she smiled, hoping up and making towards the door. "I'm gonna go weight training with Yang, if you really wanna make it up to me, how about you make me your special pancakes?"

Ren looked at her in modest surprise and confusion but ultimately replied to her.

"My Okonomiyaki? But that will take me ages to make"

Her pout returned and Ren instantly hated himself for not being able to resist that look.

"Alright, if it will make you happy and give me some peace and quiet. Then I will"

"YAY!" she squealed, hopping up and down on the spot. "Thanks, Renny! See ya later!"

With that she darted out of the door and slammed it shut, much to the mild annoyance of her team member who began to gather the ingredients from beneath his bed.

* * *

Nora left the room just in time to see Weiss hurriedly leave the room in the direction of the arena. Looking away from the rapidly disappearing form of Weiss, she turned her attention back towards the doorway to team RWBY's room.

There stood a proud and daring Yang, who nodded at Nora who nodded back at her with a knowing look.

"Hey, Rubes, Blake?" she called inside and got a murmur of responses from within. "I'm gonna go for a run with Nora, be back soon"

"Okay" came the quiet voice of Ruby from within.

With that Yang shut the door and the two girls stared at each other before beginning to walk in the same direction, Weiss and Jaune had taken.

"Ready?" Yang asked, raising a fist for Nora to bump.

"Ready!" she grinned, accepting the fist with her own. "Begin plan: Make our friends talk and stop being mopey!"

* * *

Miss Schnee was slightly annoyed with herself. How could she lose her scroll? She was usually impeccable at keeping her belongings in safe and known locations.

Her scroll, for example, she always kept in one of her many hidden pockets of her combat skirt. It was securely kept in there at all times when she was wearing her combat outfit and wasn't using it.

So how had she lost it? Miss Schnee didn't know, but she did indeed need to get it back.

Imagine the travesty and controversy if people became aware that she had lost her scroll after being knocked to the ground by Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie.

 _Stupid, Yang. She should watch where she's going!_

Casually as she could, Miss Schnee entered the arena and immediately stopped dead in her tracks.

 _He_ was there. Seemingly oblivious to her presence as _he_ seemed to be looking for something as well. Looking underneath benches and crawling around on all fours.

 _No. This cannot be happening!_ _Why now!?_

Miss Schnee suddenly decided that she could look for her scroll another time. It wasn't like anyone would see the scroll and immediately think it was hers or anything. Besides, it was the end of the day, the halls were practically devoid of students and teachers alike.

If she simply walked back out of the room while making as little noise as possible, she could still keep to her deal with _him._

That was her plan until she saw the smirking look of Miss Xiao Long at the doorway, who promptly slammed the door shut and another door slammed shut at the other end of the room, but not before giving a glimpse at the equally evil smirk on Miss Valkyrie's her face.

The slamming caused _him_ to jolt his head up slightly, looking around the room before he spotted Miss Schnee. His eyes grew wide as he stared at her and then the now shut doors which made the audible sound of the door handles being yanked up as far as they could go and held there... trapping her inside with _him..._

"Yang, I will not stand for this. Release me, please"

Miss Schnee called to the door she near pressed herself against, only to get a guffaw in response.

"Not until you two make up! I'm sick of seeing you both so down!" came Yang's voice, to be joined by Nora's.

"Same goes for you, Jauney! Talk or we'll never let you out!"

 _No. Why?_ _Why?!_ _Why are you_ _doing this to me!? Why would you make me go through this!? Why can't you just leave me alone on this!?_

"Yang. There is nothing to talk about, as I have explained many times before" Miss Schnee replied, trying to ignore the thudding in her chest as it grew louder and louder.

"Talk. Or you aren't getting out" came the mildly growled reply.

Behind Miss Schnee, _he_ was busy trying to understand just why Nora would do this to him.

* * *

 _What do I do!? I can try and break open the door but then if I get through I'll be in trouble with Miss Goodwitch! If I don't I'll just hurt myself and Weiss will probably laugh at me. Wait. Why did I just think that?_

Jaune's mind was racing a mile a minute.

How was he supposed to deal with something like this!? How was he supposed to just _talk_ to her!?

Why the hell was this happening to him!?

The beat smashed and crashed into it's bone prison.

It hurt. It hurt so much that he wanted to scream!

What would he even say if he tried to speak to _her_ again?

'I get that I was an asshole who couldn't take a hint, but you hurt my feelings, so I guess we're as bad as each other!?' _Oh yes._ That would work _wonders!_ But.. what other choice did he have? Ignore her until a teacher found them and got them out of here? That could be hours and he frankly didn't think the song would let him last that long...

So, with a deep intake of breath, he lowered his head and turned to her, seeing her from just underneath his fringe.

"Heh… ummm, hi"

* * *

Miss Schnee was prepared to deal with many situations in life. Having practically grown up around men and woman she would honestly say she was not fond of, made her able to deal with most situations in a short and curt manner.

She could use her dust to escape the room, but to do so would cause damage to the door and the surrounding area. That was something she could not do.

How dare Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie do this to her. This was above cruel and unkind and was, to be quite frank, childish. Miss Schnee was perfectly fine with the situation as it was. She had to believe _he_ was fine with it as well as he had made no attempt to try and go back on his agreement on purpose.

 _None at all…_

So she was perfectly fine with simply standing here in silence until teachers arrived. Which was bound to be soo-

"Heh… ummm, hi" came the voice belonging to _him_ from behind her. Miss Schnee felt herself stiffen for an odd reason, the thumping in her chest becoming even more noticeable as she heard the words.

 _Now? Now you talk? Why!? Why wont even_ _ **you**_ _leave me alone!?_

Miss Schnee knew how to respond to him though. She would make her statement brief and to the point... she... she didn't think she could take anymore than that. She wanted to be left alone, she wanted _him_ to leave her alone. What was so hard about that? He had spent plenty of time leaving her alone, and she him... so what had suddenly changed in their perfect agenda? This must have been an attempt to save himself, why else would he bother to talk to her?

"I am unfortunately unable to talk to you, Mr Arc so if you would please leave me be"

* * *

Weiss's words confused him. she had sounded far too formal and odd, he had expected her to not want to talk but the way she had phrased it gave him reason to pause. Also, what was with her calling him 'Mr Arc' like he was a complete stranger? Frankly it annoyed him more than a little.. _. No... no, don't get angry. Velvet and Coco wouldn't want me to get angry..._

Letting out a calming breath, Jaune decided to try again, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was get away from the girl that was causing all the pain he was beginning to deal with to resurface with horrid intent. It hurt, it hurt so much... why had Nora done this? Wasn't she his friend? Wasn't she his teammate who said she'd help him?

 _Stop it... Nora... Nora must be thinking she's helping... right? Th-that must be it, right!?_

He sighed, shuddering breath escaping his lips as he forced himself to not shake with nerves, and tried again.

"They aren't gonna let us outta here until we talk, Weiss" he put simply, noting her shoulders clench slightly as he spoke making it clear he was walking on egg shells here. He knew Weiss had a bad temper at the best of times, now though? It was like she was trying to hold in so much and a single wrong word would let it all out... "Frankly I don't think this is the right time but I think we need to sit down and-"

"I am _sorry,_ Mr Arc, but I cannot talk to right now. As I neither have the time nor the want to" her reply, instead of being in the usual monotone voice that held a smile, now carried with it a hint of venomous anger.

What... what was going on? Why was she talking to him like this? He knew he'd messed up, he shouldn't have just shut her out like he had, but to talk to him like this... what had he done wrong?

* * *

Miss Schnee was doing her very best to be polite to _him._ She really was, but _he_ just wouldn't give up. He seemed to want to talk with her, despite his deal with Miss Schnee, which made absolutely no sense, her father would have burst a blood vessel at how carelessly _he_ broke the deal that was made.

Her annoyance at him breaking their deal so easily was definitely the cause of the rapid thumping in her chest. It hurt and made Miss Schnee feel a mild sense of anger. Him breaking the deal had to be the reason she was upset. It just had to be.

 _Go away! Leave! Do what you do best and leave me alone to wallow in your self-pity!_

The mask cracked ever so slightly at his next words, a sliver in the porcelain of her face that was hard to spot at distance, but if one were to look closer, they would see the writhing mass of black beneath that Miss Schnee was doing her utmost to keep down and pretend it wasn't there in the fist place. That was something she had spent her entire life doing, so what was wrong with doing it now?

"Look. We both messed up, okay?" He said, his words grating like nails on a chalk board to Miss Schnee's ears. "I… should have taken the hint"

"Yes. Yes, you should have" Miss Schnee snapped, surprising herself. It wasn't proper to do so, even during an argument, yet she found herself not caring in the slightest for the reaction it gave when he recoiled ever so slightly, a frown crossing his face before her ducked his head. Miss Schnee could have sworn she heard _him_ let out a deep exhale of air, seemingly annoyed by her response.

The mask cracked slightly further.

 _You think you have the right to be angry with me!? After everything you did to me? After having to make me deal with your incessant flirts for how long!?_

"But... I think you can agree that what you said was out of line as well, I mean... that hurt Weiss. I'm not trying to make it seem you were worse than me, I mean, what were you supposed to think considering what you've been through? I get it... I really do... so please... please talk to me?"

Miss Schnee chose not to comment, in part as she felt no need to reply to him and was too busy dealing with the throbbing beating, pains in her chest that rang with every word _he_ spoke.

"Urgh… I-" she saw him cut himself off in the corner of her eye, icy blue watching his hands clench such hard enough to cause his aura to flare, his eyes scrunched shut as he took in a deep breath and released it explosively and seemed to have calmed himself down, for whatever reason he thought he had the right to be angry in the first place, and looked at her with those dull blue eyes of his. "Weiss. I... I'm trying here, I'm not gonna come after you as a girlfriend anymore-" For some reason, that caused the mask to crack further, Miss Schnee was ecstatic! What else could she be? This was exactly what she wanted! This... this was... This was the best thing she could have hoped for! Now, now he would leave her alone... all... all alone... "-But... maybe we could be friends?"

Something felt like it broke when those final words left his lips... something that hurt, hurt so much... but it was soon taken over by a seething **fury**.

Friends?

 _Friends?_

 _ **Friends!?**_

The mask shattered.

The rage filled face of Weiss Schnee took its' place.

* * *

"What did you just say?" she hissed, Jaune stumbling back as she continued after him, nearly falling over a chair as he tried to back away from her. "Friends? _Friends!?_ Why on Remnant would I _ever_ wish to be friends with a reprobate like you!? _You,_ who left me all alone in that doorway, near ready to beg you to talk to me, wanting to bring myself _low_ enough to speak to someone like you!? What injury have you sustained that makes you think I would ever want such a thing after you proved how much of a _coward_ you are when you left me!... You left me stood alone in that doorway..."

She trailed off, Jaune seeing what was the start of tears in her eyes... despite his mind screaming at him to not do it, despite his instincts telling him to just run and despite the fact that she had just talked to him like _dirt_... he gingerly brought his hand out to place it on her shoulder-

-Only to have it slapped away with a snarl as she glared at him with renewed fury.

"Don't you _dare_ touch me, you selfish boy! Don't you _dare_ try and act all _caring_ now, after all you've done!"

 _That_ hurt, what had he done, compared to her? Here he was, doing his best to try and talk to her and already admitted that he had messed up!

"That's not fair! You're acting like _you're_ the only victim here! Like I was the only one who did anything wrong!" he yelled, already regretting it, both for losing his temper and for how he _knew_ Weiss was going to respond to him.

"You dare to pretend what I, _rightfully,_ said to you is _anything_ compared to what I went through with you!?"

* * *

 _Stop... This... This won't end well, please just stop..._

Whispered a quiet voice in the back of her mind, yet she refused to even care to listen, all she cared about was showing this _monster_ before her.

* * *

"Rightfully? _Rightfully!?_ You treated me like dirt! You made me feel like I was scum! Do you know how much it hurt!? How much I just wanted to break down and cry, because I _actually_ let you get into my head that I was like that! I'm trying here, Weiss! Which is a lot more that I can say about you..."

Weiss, for the first time in this... whatever it was, seemed taken back by his words but quickly recovered with a face like thunder and jabbed a finger into his chest painfully.

"I _tried_ to apologise, if you dared care to remember! But no! You were too busy acting like you were hurt, like I had torn your black heart in two!" She slammed a hand down onto the chair beside him, he would have normally flinched at something like that, but... he could feel something, something dark that both scared and dragged him in... It hurt, it hurt so much but he clung onto it whenever he felt like it was going to fade. It stabbed at him, made him feel like he was going to die from just touching it... so why was he so scared to let it go? "Why did I ever believe you were deserving of my kindness? Why did I ever think you were anything other than what I _already_ told you, you were! You just went and played the _victim_ to that... _Faunus!"_

That dark feeling erupted forth even more when he heard those words... she... she couldn't be talking about _Velvet_ could she? That... that just didn't make sense, what had she ever done to her? What had Velvet ever done to deserve something like this...?

" _What?"_ he said, voicing his thoughts and his face scrunching up in a mix of anger and confusion, apparently Weiss decided she didn't like that look.

"Oh, don't you _dare_ try and pretend you don't know what I mean! I heard you, remember!? I heard each and every word, and I was foolish enough to think you actually meant them!"

"I _did_ mean them! You have no right to try and tell _me_ whether or not I meant them! You don't hear me trying to pretend you didn't _mean_ those horrible things you said to me! You think _I'm_ playing the victim, yet here you are acting the sad little princess who got told _no_ for the first time in your life. Keep playing the sole victim here Weiss, just keeps proving to me I was right to stop going after you and how much of a selfish person you are. Poor little princess, getting treated like you deserve, hurts getting talked to like that, like you're scum, doesn't it Weiss!?" he snarled out, letting his anger take hold and not caring in the slightest about it, why should he? She deserved it, he'd _tried_ to be nice, he'd _tried_ to be caring and he'd _tried_ to be the one to make the first move to repairing things!

Weiss actually gaped, her mouth clicking shut and here eyes growing wide as she seemed to try and take in his words... her eyes flickering with tears that seemed to almost _burn_ away as a dark aura surrounded her, a fury in her eyes and she looked ready to tear into him. It was funny how little he cared... how much he wanted her to explode so he could as well, let out all the _**hate**_ he felt for her right now. What right did she have to talk to him like this!?

"You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through. So don't you **_dare_** talk to me as if you do! You have no idea of the things I have been through! The things I have had to suffer through! My entire life, _all of it,_ I have had to deal with those who only want to use and hurt me and you are just the same! Those who would use me and throw me into the gutter without a second thought, they only ever saw me as a tool for their use. I thought, for one _single_ moment, that you were better than them... but I was wrong, wasn't I!? You are a disgusting, self-serving, leach! Just like my father, the Atlas elite and the White Fang! I bet that stupid little Rabbit Faunus is working with you to hurt me, isn't she!? Probably a sympathiser for those _animals_! I bet it felt good, having the sympathy of some ditsy _Faunus_ girl who probably only talked to you to hurt me!"

"... _Excuse_ me?" he growled, utterly lost for words, unable to even start to understand where that line of thinking had come from, all he felt was the dark anger swelling up inside him, what had Velvet even done to her!? Talking about her, like the fact she was a Faunus made her _less_ than her... The one person who had... who had managed to get _through_ to him when his heart had been ready to give out, to give up. She had been his friend when he needed one, helped him when he needed it and cooled him down when he felt like he was going to explode...

But Velvet wasn't here... she wasn't here to save him.

She wasn't here to save him from himself.

She wasn't here to stop him from defending her from this despicable _monster._

* * *

He advanced on her, a murderous fury in his eyes and Weiss felt herself backing away without conscious input from herself. She had never seen this look on him, the utter _disgust_ on his face as she felt her back hit the wall behind her, his large form looming over her with a dark rage that threatened to swallow her whole. But she would not allow this. She swallowed that pathetic fear and set her frozen eyes onto his with her own fury to match his own, not that it deterred him as he _snarled_ out his next words.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about her like that. Don't you **_ever_** talk about her like she's nothing less than one of the _kindest_ people I have ever met! She was there for me, helped me when I didn't want to admit I needed it and refused to admit how much I was hurting, all because of **_you_ " **he near spat her name, like the very uttering of her name brought him to anger even greater than he was displaying already. "You know, I hear people talk about how horrible the Schnee's are, I hear them talk about how their monsters who will hurt anyone they decide they feel deserves it. You have _no_ idea how angry I used to get, thinking 'how could they ever talk about someone like that, when they don't even know them?' I actually got into a fight because someone was talking badly about you behind your back..."

Lies, lies and more lies! There was no way he would do such a thing! No way he would ever do such a thing! He was a cowardly little worm who ran away like a coward at any fight he could do it in!

The song thundered and raged as her hand tightened to the point she felt it might have bled if it wasn't for her aura, the bone prison feeling like it was going to shatter at the rate the song slammed into it. She had cried for him. She had stayed awake at night, waking up from a fevered sleep filled with worry of what had happened between them.

No more! No more would she ever allow herself to let her soul be torn apart by this spineless little monster before her! He could throw himself to the Grimm for all she cared!

"But now I see it. Now I see what they all said. You are an uncaring, spiteful little monster who hurts people without a care! I cared about you so much! I thought you were just a lonely girl, that I could just show you that you aren't alone! All I _ever_ wanted to do was make you happy! Every turn down, every harsh word, every _nasty_ thing you ever said to me... I kept thinking that if I just kept trying, you'd realise I wasn't trying to use you! But that's the thing, isn't it? I _finally_ realise what you really are... and I realised how much I wasted my time on you, you stupid, selfish little _brat!"_

She made to shout him down, to roar at him for daring to act like he had any right to talk to her like this! But she was never given the chance as he began to laugh, a hollow thing that was near unnerving in the way it came out of him. His eyes spilled tears and he gripped his face as a sob tore free but seemed to regain his composure and fixed her with a stony gaze, filled with nothing but hatred and loathing for her.

When he spoke... Weiss felt her song screech to a halt...

"You are a cold, uncaring and _evil_ girl who I _honestly_ hope no poor idiot ever falls for, like I did. I hope you live your sad, little life _alone,_ because that's all you deserve! You hurt me, so bad that I wanted to just cry and beg for the pain to stop. Do you want to know the thing that went through my mind, what I thought of? I blamed _myself!_ I spent so long blaming myself for the pain _you_ caused! I let myself believe I was the bad guy here! I..." he paused for the briefest of moments, those stormy eyes dulling into shallow pools for a moment as what appeared to be a great pain shone behind them. She wanted to laugh, what did he know about pain? What did he know about suffering!? _Nothing._ He had never been through anything to cause the look in his eyes, meaning that he was lying _again_ to try and get her sympathy... she forced herself not to wretch in complete and utter disgust at the thought of it. She would shut him down the very _second_ he dared to speak and _laugh_ when he realised his pathetic reason for being 'oh so hurt' wouldn't wo- "I _loved_ you. I actually fell in _love_ with you, to think I was so stupid as to think someone like **you** deserved my heart"

Weiss felt her blood run cold, her body going completely rigid as his words struck home and crashed into the song that thrashed and writhed at them. _He... he would dare to..._

" _Why!?_ Why was I so stupid as to even want to speak to you!? All you've ever done is treat me like dirt! Maybe I should have taken the hint and left you alone, would have saved me a lot of pain and you from _'having to deal with people like me'_ that's what you're like, isn't it? You treat people you see as _lower_ than you as if their a waste of space!"

"That's not tr-!" She began to yell, but it was as if she wasn't even there anymore, his ranting growing louder and louder with hands shaking and balling into fists every now and then as he went into a near rage.

"Pyrrha! All she wanted was to be treated like she was a normal person, like she wasn't just some tool or a trophy to be put on a pedestal! Then you come along, Pyrrha told me how it hurt that even here, she was being treated like that! and me? Oh, dumb, _stupid_ me took the time to convince her that you probably didn't mean it like that! All because I **loved** you enough to think it!"

Love... he... he loved her? Th-that didn't make sense... no... no it couldn't be... _'Willow, I love you more than life itself, I want to spend our lives together and with our children'_

Something burning and toxic cut into her like a shard of glass, something cruel and savage.

"Ruby! Do you have any idea how bad you made her feel in the first few days of Beacon!? You treated her like she was a waste of space, made her feel so worthless for not meeting you _ridiculous_ standards! I bet you only tolerate her now because for once you got told 'no' and have to put up with it! Once again, I convinced myself you were a better person now, that the **love** I felt for you wasn't wrong! Well! Would you look at that! Stupid Jaune Arc was wrong again!"

 _'Willow... I believe it would be best if you let me take over more of the business now your father has passed. Oh, I know it hurts, yes, yes... you must be going through so much. I'll take over your remaining duties if you feel you cannot_ handle _them while you grieve. Hm? Oh, yes, yes I love you too'_ More and more shards of glass stabbed into her, the black vileness building and growing into something evil and dark.

"Velvet! What has she ever done to you!? What right have you got to talk about her like this!? She hasn't ever even _spoke_ to you, let alone done anything to you! You know, she spent time actually convincing me that I had messed up, that I should talk to you to try and sort things out because she was worried about _both_ of us. You hear that, Weiss? She was worried about _you!_ Let me guess, you're treating her badly just because she's a Faunus, you haven't exactly given me any reason to think otherwise after all! I heard your family treated Faunus badly... that you see them as nothing but slaves by angry people, once again, _stupid Jaune_ refused to believe it; 'how can someone be so terrible as to judge an entire _race_ of people for just being born the way they are?' well thanks for proving me wrong once again, Weiss!... I must be crazy, I really must be _insane,_ to have fallen in **love** with you!"

 _'Be quiet, you drunken whore! Do you think I want to hear your moronic prattle at the moment!? What? Love? Hah! I_ never _loved you, you foolish woman, I only married you to get this company, you are_ nothing _to me!'_ It... It was there, she felt as if she should have reviled it, _hated_ the very idea of it... but his words... the idea that he thought he could convince her that what he'd felt was _that..._ she welcomed this feeling and almost cherished the way it built a wall against the vile lies he was spewing.

"And then... then there's me" he sighed slapping a hand to his face, and glaring at her with furious blue eyes. "Me, who only ever wanted to try and make you happy! Me, who you insulted and completely belittled at _any_ chance you had! Even when I literally wasn't speaking to you! During initiation, before I had even _spoken_ to you, you were talking bad about me to Ruby! Me, who... who..." he stopped, his face going pale as some horror dawned on him, before it once more darkened with a rage so pure and unrelenting that Weiss could have sworn she felt the walls shake... it was such a shame she didn't care in the slightest for how he felt. "You... You left me to d- ** _die_** during initiation! You literally left me stuck to a tree in the middle of a Grimm infested Forest! Is that what you wanted, Weiss!? For me to **_DIE!?"_**

Any care she felt... any upset for what she _might_ have endured at the idea that she _had_ left him there... defenceless and alone... was swallowed as that same inky black **hate** pushed forward and enveloped every fibre of her being. Her world turned dark, only the looming form of the _leach_ , remaining and she let loose all of that **hate.**

She shoved her hands against his chest, his looming form not moving with the first one, but the second and third were applied with much more force and successfully shoved him back as she unleashed her exact thoughts on this utter _waste_ of a human being.

"Don't you _dare_ use such a word on me! Don't you dare, to pretend you mean those words, you disgusting liar!" she attempted to slam her hands into his chest once more, but a sweep of his hand knocked them back with force as he pushed his face down and into hers.

"Answer me! You left me to die, didn't you!? What kind of monster does that!? You didn't even try and help me, no you just scowled at me and walked away! How can someone even _do_ that sort of th-... You know what? It does make sense! You _are_ a monster, you're an evil little Princess who only cares about yourself! You will use and throwaway any person you want, won't you!?" His roaring and raging made it clear she wouldn't get a word in, Weiss choosing to instead glare with complete and utter contempt for the _monster_ before her... until he uttered something that brought forth that **hate** all over again. "You didn't even care, heh, loneliest of all? You love it that way, don't you? Yet, stupid, little me _somehow_ still fell in lov-" his shouting was cut off as Weiss' stinging hand sailed past his face, the red mark streaking across his skin as the pathetic _monster_ staggered back with a look on complete and utter shock on his face.

His aura hadn't activated, the monster was so pathetic that he hadn't even been able to protect himself from her attack... and she loved how it grew redder and redder with every passing second.

 _ **"Never."**_ She snarled out, burning tears streaming down her face as she relived each and every _disgusting_ uttering of her father claiming he 'loved' her mother, every time he used it on her to placate her when she came close to realising what a _fowl_ human being he was and each and every strike when he revealed he never had loved her... in every memory, she saw _his_ face in place of her fathers, his fist striking into her own face... Weiss felt, in that moment, **no** regret for what she said next. "Never say that word to me, you _filthy,_ disgusting, waste of a human being! You complete and utter mistake of life!" she roared and decided it was _her_ turn to not allow this **mistake** to speak. "How... how could you be such a monstrous human being as to try and use such a thing on me? What, you found out it was me and decided to use it on me? To try and use the fact you know my song to try and hurt me!? Do you _honestly_ think I will fall for such lies!? How _moronic_ can you be to think that such a thing will ever work on me!? As if you dare think to try and make me feel guilty for leaving your pathetic self alone!? If you couldn't escape from such a situation then you _deserved_ to be devoured!" The darkness inside called to her, whispered words that, in the moment, made sense to say... words that sounded right to say in that moment, even if a weak, fragile little voice screamed out to stop. She had spent too long listening that part of her mind that told her to be sensible and think things through. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to plan things out... she just wanted this _pathetic little **mistake**_ to hurt. "You claim to want to make me happy? You claim I left you to die? Well, do something worthwhile for _once_ in your life and finish the job! Find the tallest tower in Beacon... and throw yourself from it" her final words were spat with venom and cruel intent that revelled in the way his eyes turned dull and dark at her words.

Those dark, cruel thoughts cut out the cry of warning as she flung fire dust over the handles of the door in front of her and melted them, hearing a yell of pain that proved her dust had done its' work, and slammed them open as she marched up to a frightened and pained looking Yang who wasn't even able to get a word in before she delivered a vicious slap to her face and snatched her scroll from the girl she _thought_ was someone she could trust and walked away.

* * *

Yang watched with scared eyes as Weiss stormed off, still feeling the hit she'd gotten and felt like she was locked in place... unable to even call out to her as she tried to piece together what had just happened and only came to when the sound of Ruby and Ren coming down the hallway hit her ears.

She turned to see her sister looking at them with worry... which quickly turned into a frown of complete and utter disappointment when she saw what had happened, what they'd done... she ran away, Yang seeing the beginning of tears in her eyes that let her legs finally allow her to chase after her.

* * *

Nora didn't know what had just happened... their muffled shouts was all they had been able to hear as you couldn't properly hear anything through the doors unless someone was right on the other side, she guessed it made sense, being a combat training room after all...

But she couldn't let herself get distracted right now... right now she had to go and help Jaune, who was slumped onto his knees with his hand cupping his cheek which was red with what looked like a slap mark.

He didn't respond when she got close, not even moving when she stood in front of him... had it really been that bad? What... what had happened? It didn't matter! She would help him! It didn't matter that things had _clearly_ gone wrong, they could always try again! She moved her hand to put it on his shoulder to get his attention so she could try and comfort him in any way she could-

The second her hand made contact with his shoulder, he slammed her hand away and glared at her with dull and blank eyes that made her take a step back.

"Don't... Don't even try it..." he stood, Nora seeing tears in his eyes as he stared at her with so much pain... so much hurt... "I thought you were my friend! I thought you cared about me!" he yelled, those eyes losing their light with each and every word he shouted which made Nora feel smaller and smaller just the same.

"B-But I am! I do! I was just trying to he-" he cut her off with a scoff, looking even angrier now.

"Help!? That's what you thought th-... I can't do this... not anymore... I just..." he trailed off, her once big and happy leader looking so fragile and afraid in that moment that Nora couldn't stop herself before she said his name and she immediately regretted it when he focused all that anger on her again. "Give me my scroll, Nora."

Wordlessly, she handed it to him and he snatched it away, shoving it into his pocket before he made to walk past her.

"I... I only wanted to help you, Jauney... I'm your friend..." tears were forming in her eyes as she turned to him, silently begging him to come back... to talk to her... to let her try and explain... but the only time he stopped was when he got to the door.

"Friends? No... Nora... No we're not. Not anymore" he closed his eyes and turned away, leaving her with words that hurt more than any of his angry ones... if only because of how calm he said it. "I wish I'd never met you"

Her heart felt like it shattered at those words, tears forming in her eyes as she slumped into a chair as all her strength left her. She silently looked for Ren, looking for her rock and safety, so he could help her... stop Jaune and sort this out... only to find him gone. It was like he was never even there...

Tears fell down Nora's cheeks as she cupped her face in her hands... it had been many years since had felt like this... so _alone..._ "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."


	11. Nightmares and stupid choices

**_EDITED_**

 **I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Nightmares and stupid choices**

 _He was falling. No. He was flying threw the air, seeing the grass covered ground fast approaching. He could feel it. He was going to die. He was going to die, and it was all because of her..._

* * *

It had been a long week for Jaune. A _very_ long week.

Which was why, as Coco held his shoulders and screamed at him, tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes as Velvet watched, helpless to stop her. He thought back to just what lead him to this place. This exact moment where the girl with the ever-cool personality was letting all her emotions fly. His cheek still stung from her slap. So. What _had_ happened to lead him here?

* * *

It had come to no surprise to Jaune as he had entered Professor Ozpin's office along with a certain girl who he couldn't help but glare at, and she him, as they were marched forward by Miss Goodwitch. He had known ever since she had thrown that damn vial that they were in trouble. How could they not? You didn't exactly destroy part of the school in a hail of fire and flame and not expect to get found out.

That made him think though, _he_ hadn't destroyed the doors. So why was he being forced to go the head master's room where he was surely gonna get punished? Probably just his dumb luck.

The unearthly screech Miss Goodwitch had uttered, upon finding the melted handles and scorched wooden doors to one of her arenas and an ash and debris covered Jaune around the corner, clutching his knees as he glared into open space while sitting upon the floor. It was a screech so terrifying, it would have frightened any Grimm in the area to flee.

When she had demanded to know what had happened he had simply muttered "Go ask Weiss Schnee". What else _could_ he say? it wasn't as if he could give any kind of other answer, was it?

Shockingly, Miss Goodwitch hadn't appreciated his answer. Using her semblance to drag him to his feet, she ordered him to follow her. Naturally not exactly having a choice in the matter, Jaune followed, scowling at the floor the entire way. Her final words to him still ringing through his head.

They had found her in one of the bathroom's, the noticeable sound of something breaking had given her away, the two of them jumping at the sound of cracking glass, but in the end all it did was make Miss Goodwitch storm down the hallway all the faster. He had expected her to shout and scream, to throw a fit like a kid like she'd done to Ruby at initiation.

Instead he'd caught a glimpse of her as Miss Goodwitch stormed in to get her, standing in front of a mirror, eyes staring directly at the glaring face that stared back through the cracks and splinters of the broken surface. Eyes full of anger and fury despite the calm mask she wore.

Her fist, which gripped the side of the sink so hard it may have cracked at even the slightest increase in pressure, was covered in a sharp blue glow as her aura worked to heal what he assumed was bruising.

She had not been spared of the combat teacher's wrath either. Even behind the now shut door, he could hear her. It was obvious Miss Goodwitch knew which one of them had caused the damage. What use did he have for dust? It wasn't like he could use it with his non-existent semblance or his weapon after all. Prissy little Princess Schnee, though? Well, the name said it all really.

What had surprised him, however, was that everyone else had seemed to magically disappear as he had been found. He knew Ruby had run off and Yang had charged after her, her pleas and apologies clearly falling on deaf ears as her voice disappeared into the distance. He hadn't cared what happened with Nora. Obviously, she hadn't been there when Miss Goodwitch had arrived, likely having run off after her little plan had failed.

… He knew he would have to face her later. He didn't want to and that was exactly why he didn't even dare to think where she was. Even with his head full of rage he knew that he needed to try and calm down and think clearly when he approached her. Because right now he didn't even want to think of what he would say to her in the state his mind was in. Ren had probably come to find him but had more than likely seen and heard the mass of murderous rage that was their combat teacher and had decided living was more important. Jaune wanted to be angry with him for that. He truly did. He wanted to hate him for abandoning him, for letting Nora do that to him… but he couldn't. Jaune was just too tired and mentally drained after everything that had happened in the recent days that he just couldn't bring himself to hate what was bound to be one of his few friends left. Despite it all, he was himself after all. It would take a lot to make him truly angry at someone.

 _Like telling me to kill myself_ he growled internally, the words hurt. So much more than he had expected them when she had uttered them. He'd felt the roaring thunder of the melody in his chest, stop oh so suddenly at her words. They'd seemed to slip out of her mouth so easily. Her cold eyes staring at him with utter disgust. The beat growing slow, to the point he'd only been able to hear it every now and again as the words rang through his head in a loop. The stinging in his face had disappeared all-together. How could such a small pain compare to the raging, torturous agony in his chest? With that she'd left, he'd barely registered the fact that she'd slapped Yang and stormed off. Why would he, when he slumped down and simply felt the pain burning pain shooting through his chest.

"Are you quite alright Mr Arc?" came the ever-calm voice of Headmaster Ozpin. Jaune suddenly became aware that was now sat in a chair opposite the man himself, the enormous gears around them turning eternally. She was sat as far away as she could from him while still being sat in front of his desk. She wasn't even looking at him, her scowl schooled into what he could only describe as a calm grimace, staring directly ahead at the man before them as he calmly sipped from his coffee cup, his ancient, powerful and knowing eyes, staring in mild interest at Jaune's chest.

"I'm… fine sir" he grumbled, not trying to be rude but frankly he couldn't muster up the will power to even try and say the words clearly.

"I see. So why exactly are you clutching at your chest in a matter that would suggest a great deal of pain?" he enquired, gently nodding his head towards his chest again, where the painful tightness was located.

Finally looking down he noticed for the first time that he was clutching at the left side of his upper torso incredibly tightly. Painfully tightly in fact. Retracting his hand in a quick motion, he shook his head gently and stared directly into the eyes of the man before him. Trying his best to ignore the fact that Miss Goodwitch was glaring at him from behind here spectacles.

* * *

Weiss was having a terrible week. It was one of the worst in living memory for her. What made this week so bad for her though? She recoiled in mild fear as the enraged face of Coco charged towards her, after having delivered a rather viscous slap to Arc, seemingly ready to tear her head from her body. As she watched this spectacle with her tired eyes that were rimmed by dark bags, she thought back to where this had all started. In Ozpin's office.

* * *

"I'm fine Sir" he answered, putting on a pathetic attempt to look calm and collected as she watched his hand gingerly uncoil from his chest, Weiss noticing the fact his fingers had been gripping his shirt and skin so tightly that they had turned white, the blood slowly returning at the hand returned to his side.

 _Feeling guilty about calling me a monster? Hrmm? Telling me I don't deserve love? Ha! You're the person who doesn't deserve love! Stringing me along for so long making me feel sorry for you then you go and pull that!? I bet you pulled that alongside them! Something I bet you would do just to get with me! What other reason would you have for looking so pathetic! It's not like I said… anything…_ the memory of her words to Jaune came to the forefront of her mind, unfortunately, the storm currently raging through it clouded over any calm and logical thoughts she could have had on the matter. _I... did I truly say that? Why? Why would I..._ _No. While I do deeply regret_ _ **certain**_ _words, I said. I will not, I repeat, I will_ _ **not**_ _apologise for those words! You crossed the line to. So why should I feel the need to apologise when you are just as guilty as me!?_

Weiss was drawn from her angry thoughts as Headmaster Ozpin spoke.

"Well then, so long as you are in healthy condition then we shall happily continue with our task, though I daresay 'happily' is not the appropriate word" he said grimly, placing down his mug of coffee and stared at her and the boy beside her. "Are you aware that under normal circumstances I would simply allow Miss Goodwitch here to deal out your punishment, as it was one of her classrooms that was so grievously damaged, and I will be honest. If I had left it in her hands, then I imagine you would both be expelled and sent home by the morning" he spoke solemnly, a quick glance over towards Miss Goodwitch made it clear that this was true. "But. Despite her protests, it is not" he continued, having used her distraction to take another sip of his coffee. "So, I shall give you both the benefit of the doubt and ask as to what happened in that room. For I do believe in asking for the truth from those in question first and foremost, and deeply hope they tell the truth when asked. Please then, Mr Arc, we shall hear of your tale of events and then we shall hear Miss Schnee's own version. If I believe what either of you say is the truth, then appropriate actions shall be taken. If you will, Mr Arc" he smiled gently, nodding towards the rather confused looking boy beside her.

This was the point Weiss became worried. She had every right to be. Frankly if their roles were reversed, she would have every right to place all the blame solely on him. _She_ was the one to pull out the vial of dust. _She_ was the one to throw it at the door and destroy it and the surrounding wall. Frankly, and I pained her to admit it... she was at fault here. No matter how much she wished to blame the _leach_ before her, she just couldn't. As much as he had pushed her. As much as he had riled her into rage. She should have done what a proper heiress should have done and remained calm and handled the situation befitting of her position. The way Winter would have handled it. She knew he would do that, he clearly hated her as much as she did him right now. Any sane person would have simply thrown her under the bus and walked away scot free.

"What h-happened?" he questioned, throwing a quick glance at her that was still filled with barely hidden anger. "What happened was that… we got into a fight. A bad one. We've not been getting on lately and it ended up exploding when we got stuck in the combat room together. We… _tried_ to talk it out but we ended up just screaming at each other-"

He was interrupted by the raised hand of Ozpin. "I will ask, Mr Arc. How _did_ you come to be locked in the room? I would be utterly shocked if the door managed to lock itself after all" he enquired, eyebrow raised as he stared at the nervous looking body next to her. She could see the questioning look in the headmasters' eyes, he was looking for any hole in the _boys_ story and if he even _tried_ to make her seem worse than the situation made her look? Then the man before her would know.

"Oh… we were locked in by some students after we went to get our scrolls back, I… didn't see who they were though" he replied, hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head before he seemed to catch himself and brought it down to his lap.

 _Wait… is he?_

"Are you quite certain you do not know the students involved? It could actually help your case if I was able to catch the one's who locked you in the room, as they would seemingly know that forcing you two together would apparently be a… volatile affair" Ozpin questioned, taking another sip from his coffee yet his eyes never leaving the blue of Arc's.

"Yes. I'm certain sir" he said with an unusual amount of sturdiness in his voice. "I don't know who was involved"

 _Oh, my Oum he_ _ **is**_ _! Why on earth would he lie for those… villains!? No. I will not allow those… people to get away with what they have done._

"Actually, Professor Ozpin I-" Ozpin cut _her_ off this time with his raised hand.

"I believe I said we shall hear your side after Mr Arc's, Miss Schnee" he said to her, though he didn't look at her. Eyes scanning the now glaring boy, his eyes fixed on her for the briefest of moments to show just how he felt about her trying to get those that had helped to cause that utter disaster, caught. She wanted to continue, she wanted to shout out the truth! But where would that get her? In even more hot water than she already was if she went on another outburst. So instead she closed her mouth and simply sat back properly in her chair, waiting for the chance to even try and defend herself. She was already resigned though. If she couldn't get a word in, then Arc would tell them what she had done. What would be the point in trying to defend herself when it would clearly be useless to try and lie to the wise man before her?

Arc would definitely be caught out on his blatant lie after he finished his words, that was at least a small notion of comfort for her. To know that those two vile people would also get into trouble with the school for their parts in this whole twisted tale she had found herself in. "Now, if you would continue Mr Arc"

"Sure… well… like I said we got in a pretty intense argument and started to say things… things that anyone would consider some of the worst and most horrible things a person could say to someone. No matter what they'd done, no one deserves to be told a few select words that came out during that argument" he gritted his teeth as he took in a large, gulping breath. Clearly trying to get his poorly maintained emotions under check. She knew exactly what he meant by those words.

 _I… I can't exactly deny those words._ Was all Weiss could think. No matter how much she hated the boy before her, no matter how much she couldn't stand to be in his presence right now… she knew he had every right to angry about those words. Even she knew they were wrong to say. But she would be damned before she ever went up to him and apologised for them. Trying to apologise to him had landed her in this mess in the first place.

"And after that?" Ozpin pressured, leaning forward ever so slightly as Arc glanced at her. A thinking look in his eyes.

This was it. This was the moment she would be expelled. She would have to leave Beacon, leave her only chance at freedom because of her stupid mistake. Father would renounce her status as an heiress, cut off any funds she had access to… he would disown her. She would have to try and turn to Winter… but would she even want to see her after she learned of how much she had dishonoured all the training she had put her through? Dishonoured _her_? Just what would she do?

"Weiss…" he began. Weiss allowed a small wince to cross her features as she prepared for all the horrors that wait for her as she would undoubtedly end up on the streets. "Weiss decided to end the argument and turned to try and force the door open again, when she… when she tripped. She tripped and a vial of fire dust she was carrying flew from its' holster and hit the door and blew it up as I'm guessing you know. I was still angry about what happened and made a run for it since we were obviously gonna get in trouble for what happened… but I didn't get very far. In the end I just went around the corner and slumped down against the wall… I guess after all that'd happened I was more than a little mentally drained. I'm guessing Weiss was angry and scared about how her tripping had caused such damage and ran for the bathroom to try and collect herself? It's what I would do anyway if I hadn't decided to do what I did instead" he finished, his eyes closed and a small amount of pain crossing his features as Weiss watched his fingers dig deeply into his palms.

Weiss was left more than a little dumbfounded at his words. _Just what is he thinking?! He had the perfect opportunity to get me expelled! Oh, if he thought this was a good way to make him seem good in my eyes then he's got another thing coming! He may think he's just saved himself, and subsequently me, from being expelled but now he's just doomed us both! Well if I'm going down I'm going to make it clear as to everything you put me through! Causing mental distress to me may not be as bad as destroying the doors to a training room, but it will assure he is in just as much trouble as I!_

"Hrmm… so you are quite certain this is how the events that lead you to here took place? Positive without a doubt, Mr Arc?" Ozpin asked, his eyes full of obvious knowledge of Arc's lie. Clearly the man simply wanted to know just how far Arc was willing to go.

"… Yes… that's exactly what happened"

"Do you swear it upon your word as an Arc?"

* * *

Jaune's eyes grew wide and his mouth clamped shut at the question. Just… how was he supposed to lie to such a question? How could he betray his families honour at such a question? He knew Ozpin would likely believe him if he said so, seeing as his families word was well known to be like the law to them. He could just imagine the faces of his dad… his mom… his sisters… they would all be disgusted with him. They would be right to be so to, an Arc's word was their bond and their chains, for an Arc to break their word or promise was the ultimate dishonour.

Could he even begin to try and rationalize the idea that lying right now would be the better choice in any regard?

"I swear it upon the Arc name" he said firmly, taking note of the mildly shocked faces of both Miss Goodwitch and the girl beside him.

It was worth it. For one reason only...

The people that would suffer if Weiss was expelled.

Ruby, the ever cheerful and excitable girl would be crushed if her self-proclaimed 'best-girl-friend' would be forced to leave her and the team. Team RWBY in general would be thrown into disarray. He knew that quite a few of their combo moves and strategies relied on her glyphs and her rapier. She was an integral part of the team and if he got her expelled, it would mean the effective end of their team as they knew it. He could guess from just how desperate the little reaper had been to get on the Schnee's good side and had readily accepted an offer of friendship from himself, that Ruby was desperate to just have _one_ friend. Sure, she had more than one is spades now, but to lose the girl that she seemed to be more than a little attached to… he couldn't bare the thought. He also knew that she _would_ find out that he was the one that had gotten Weiss expelled. That would then mean Ruby wouldn't only be sad but also feel betrayed that her 'best-boy-friend' had caused it. He could just imagine Ruby would try to act like she was okay, but would be utterly destroyed inside.

It was too horrible to even think of...

Then there was the culprits that had locked them inside that freaking room in the first place...

By all rights he held the right to get them in trouble. They had forced him and Weiss to be near each other and had caused the inevitable screaming match between them. Meaning _they_ were equally at fault for the partially destroyed room, so why didn't he throw them under the bus alongside the Heiress? It was as simple an answer to Jaune as it could possibly be.

Because, now that he had taken a moment to calm down a little and think, they had… in their own way… tried to help him and Weiss out. Obviously, their idea of 'help' was… there was no other way to put it other than it was the stupidest way of helping someone he had ever thought of. But… it was exactly what those two would think was the perfect idea. He was angry at them, there was no doubt about that. Furious would have been a better word actually… but he didn't hate them for what they'd done.

For all he knew, they would be expelled too if he spilled the beans and revealed just _who_ had locked them inside the room to begin with.

That would then lead both teams down a spiral of depression and anger.

Ren would be grief stricken about his childhood friend, and clearly the girl he was in love with, being expelled. He was hard to even get the slightest hint of emotion from most of the time, but he knew it would destroy him inside if she left. He would worry every day about her. He wouldn't sleep at night because he would miss the sight of her ginger hair resting gently against her pillow. He would likely leave the team to go and find her, he probably wouldn't even tell them. He would just disappear into the night, never to be seen by either him or Pyrrha again. Jaune knew that, if it came between staying with them or chasing after Nora, Ren would always choose Nora. Nora, despite the fact he would never admit it, was obviously a form of rock for Ren.

He knew Blake would be upset as well. He didn't know her all that well, but Her and Yang had become close shortly after becoming partners, to the point that he swore only Nora and Ren spent more time together. He could tell from how she acted that she wasn't used to being open with others and was a guarded person, it reminded him of Vert who liked to act the tomboy but he knew inside she had issues she'd only ever come to him with... and it seemed Yang was becoming that person to Blake.

So he knew, if he got Yang expelled then she would likely be in as much of a state as Ren. Though she would likely hide it better so as not to arouse concern from her teammates. He wasn't sure why, but she seemed pretty closed off to the world. Even her own team. Yang seemed to be one of the few people that could get her to show a bit of emotion other than sarcasm and general indifference. To be a helping hand in getting rid of that? He felt sick even thinking about it. What it would do to Ruby though? That wasn't even worth thinking about.

If he decided to tell the truth… he would be the cause of all their pain. It would be all his fault.

All his fault that they were gone.

All his fault that they were shedding tears.

All his fault for all the pain they were feeling.

It would be all _his_ fault…

He couldn't do it.

"Hrmm…" said a mildly pleased looking Ozpin, as he leaned back in his chair. "Well. If an Arc swears it, then it must be true. I don't believe I will be needing a statement from you, Miss Schnee. While I do imagine that some form of punishment is required for the damaging of the arena doors… I do believe it will be far less harsh than if you'd done it on purpose, so we shall decide it at a later date. You are free to leave, I just need to speak to Mr Arc here for but a moment. I should say that you should thankful for his honesty Miss Schnee, if Mr Arc were a less honest person… well I do believe that if you two truly feel anger towards each other then he could have easily lied and had you removed from this school" he spoke, seemingly unable to hide the small smile that crept upon his face as he took yet another sip of his coffee.

Jaune turned ever so slightly to see a wide-eyed Weiss, simply nod her head in reply and gently rise from her seat, she turned towards him and nodded her head to him while saying in barely a whisper "Thank you"

With that she turned towards the door and, with a silent almost ghostlike walk, she entered the waiting elevator. Though her eyes were looking in his general direction, she clearly wasn't looking at him as the doors closed.

Before Jaune could even contemplate what that look meant, he felt the attention of the headmaster on him again.

"Glynda? Would you give us the room please?" he questioned the still seething teacher beside him.

"Ozpin I do believe that as the teacher that found the-" she began but was cut off by the raising of the Headmasters hand for silence.

"I do appreciate that Glynda, but this is a rather important matter I must discuss. I do hope you understand"

Without a word, Miss Goodwitch sent the headmaster a mild glare before following his orders, waiting beside the doors for the called elevator to return from dropping off Weiss. Once she was gone, Jaune could feel the calculating look of the man before him again, turning around to find that he was right.

"Well… I must say that after what we heard and saw on the camera's Mr Arc, I expected you to give Miss Schnee up" he smiled, apparently seeing Jaune's complete confusion slowly morph into anger. He… he knew!? He knew he'd been lying the whole time!? He… he'd let him swear upon his family name knowing he was lying… Jaune could feel the anger swelling in him again. He had just disgraced his family… for nothing!?

"I would calm down, Mr Arc. I assure you that you have in no way shamed your family through your actions and that I had reasons for my own" came the ever calm and collected voice of the man with the green turtle-neck. "It is clear that my suspicions are true, considering the fact you have always been slow to anger and yet since you delivered a rather… viscous kick to Mr Winchester the other day, I have had reports of you losing your temper rather frequently. I would like to discuss certain matters with you, if you are willing to listen"

Forcing his rising emotions down, Jaune took a deep and calming breath. Forcing the thunderous song to slow itself. He gingerly brought his head up to meet the steel grey eyes of the white-haired man.

"Heh… yeah… I guess I have no choice really do I?" he grimaced, knowing full well that he was now in the mans debt for not outing him for the clearly bad lie. A light chuckle from Headmaster Ozpin caught his attention.

"We all have a choice, Mr Arc "he said, a rather whimsical tone to his voice. "Like how, despite the rather… unsavoury words Miss Schnee chose to say to you after your argument, you chose not to turn her in. Would you care to tell me why?" he enquired, his interest in Jaune's situation clearly peaked.

"Heh… sure but it's not gonna be what you're thinking" Jaune replied, hanging his head low and gently clasping his hands together.

* * *

Weiss stared at the floor dejectedly, she had just been saved by the one person she hated most right now.

Why though? He clearly hated her as much as she did him right now, so what on Remnant had he saved her from his wrath? She honestly had many theories and ideas but frankly… none made any sense in this current situation. Arc had many flaws, he was a terrible fighter, ignorant and frankly stupid beyond measure at times and he could barely even keep his emotions under control in tense situations.

That was part of what made his biggest flaw however. He always let his heart lead him. She had let herself be ruled by her emotions during the start of this shameful affair and look where that had gotten her; emotionally distraught for days, letting herself feel pity for someone _clearly_ underserving of it and she even destroyed a part the school! Arc was no better however; his emotions were making him violent and angry towards anyone that even slightly annoyed him as she had seen when he'd practically broken Winchester's jaw the other day.

That was the thing that confused her if she were being honest with herself. She could tell for a fact that all his emotions and feelings towards her were negative one's right now... caustic hatred was a _light_ way of describing the way he had looked at her as they'd entered the Headmasters' office. It was as if he was readily signing his death warrant by not ratting her out! He himself could have easily been expelled!

 _Find the tallest tower in Beacon... and throw yourself from it._

Her words from the training room came flashing back into her mind as she thought, causing the girl to slightly scrunch her face up and growl in mild annoyance. Thrusting the thoughts from her mind she continued her train of thought. If all his feelings towards her were… for lack of a better word, hatred filled, then he would have simply followed their lead and had her expelled. So, the question was, why hadn't he?

She had half expected Professor Ozpin to come through the elevator doors when she heard them open just over 10 minutes ago, here to tell her that Arc had given him his actual answer to the questions presented to him and that he was here to tell her to pack her things. But to her mild shock, Miss Goodwitch appeared. Not looking as angry before, instead she simply looked tired, offering a withering glance towards the mildly shocked Weiss.

She hadn't even spoken to her, opting to simply shake her head and walk away, muttering something about needing a coffee.

This left Weiss more confused than ever. Why was Arc alone with the headmaster? Was he… was _he_ being expelled for lying to the professor and was being blamed for the incident, but he didn't want to embarrass Arc by doing it in front of her and Miss Goodwitch? That was probably the most likely answer right now. She needed an answer to _something_ at the moment or she felt she might go insane from all the questions storming through her mind!

She felt a strange feeling in her stomach as she thought of Arc being expelled... almost akin to a blade being pushed into her, twisting and pulling against her very _soul._ Was it… was it guilt? That he was being expelled in her place? Angrily she shook her head again, she had no time for these thoughts, he didn't deserve her pity anymore. She didn't think he ever had, right now. She only had one thing she needed to do now that concerned the fool and then she could be rid of him forever. She would never have to deal with his ilk ever again. The only problem that would persist would be the damn fool that was Yang Xiao Long. But she would cross that Grimm infested river when she came to it. She did her best to ignore the fact that the tightness in her stomach increased ten fold as she thought this.

The pinging of the elevator doors revealed a rather dishevelled looking Arc, his mouth twinging down into a scowl when he saw her.

"What do you want _now,_ Weiss? Come to make me feel even more like the worst person ever?" he asked, more like spat at, her, his voice dripping with barely hidden anger. he seemed to attempt to move past but came to the conclusion that he would have to make physical _contact_ with her to do so... something that seemed to repulse him if the disgusted look on his face was anything to go off of.

As he loomed over her, Weiss once again noting his size against her own, it would have made a more weak-willed girl feel slightly intimidated. But she was Weiss Schnee. This pathetic boy would never be able to scare her. That was a fact.

…Frankly though, she doubted the idiot was even trying to look intimidating, it was just a side effect of his size and the expression he was pulling.

Biting back her anger, she breathed heavily through her nose and sighed, putting herself into a proper pose. Arms behind her back, head slightly raised and her icy blue eyes looking into his murky blue one's.

"Actually, I came to thank y-" she was interrupted as he waved his hand in front of his face, turning around but keeping his eyes on her.

"I didn't do it for you, _Schnee_ " he practically growled as he looked her dead in the eyes, body shaking ever so slightly and a pained look in his eyes. "I did it for all the people that would be effected if I got you expelled. For _some_ reason a few people would be genuinely upset if you went and if I got you in trouble, you would make sure Yang and Nora went down with you. You and I both know _who_ would be affected if they went. _You_ may _think_ I'm the worst person ever, but at least I think about the happiness of others before my own. I would even try to make you happy, but the only way I could make that happen is by jumping off the nearest building, right?" he said, voice hitching slightly and a noticeable wetness appearing in his eyes that he dashed away with a shake of his head before turning around. He didn't turn back towards her to continue his words, instead he simply left, disappearing around the corner. The tense air he left her in, the only evidence he had even been there.

She tried to ignore the horrific feeling in her chest and stomach as she stood there like a statue. It hurt. To hear those words from him. She could ignore them when the words were appearing in her own head, that was her own mind reminding her of the poor choice of words. She had spent her entire life ignoring certain things her mind liked to pop into her head. But... to hear them from the person she'd said it to? That made it more… _real_. The words truly sinking in. A thunderous melody began in her chest and seemed to seep through her entire body the longer she stood in the tension filled space around her.

It _hurt_.

It _hurt_ so much.

She just wanted it to _stop_.

She just wanted to stop the pain and get the damn face of that stupid fool looking so broken out of her head.

She hated him for what he was still clearly capable of doing to her!

With an angry growl, Weiss slammed her fist into the nearest wall and stormed off to her room, praying that Yang wasn't there. The last thing Ruby needed right now was to see was Weiss going ballistic at her sister. She was still thinking rationally enough to know that Ruby clearly hadn't done anything wrong if her actions when she had appeared were anything to off of. Neither had Blake for the matter, the girl was far too smart to think such a moronic plan would actually work. Her personal hatred of the blonde shouldn't cause problems for the rest of the team.

Besides... she was _going_ to prove to that moron that she _did_ care about others. She was simply also a person that, when betrayed or hurt, made her opinion of those that had rightly earned her ire known!

Yang hadn't been there when she had returned, in fact none of them had.

Releasing a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, Weiss attempted to cool her fury by sitting down upon her desk's chair and going over the questions she knew off by heart. It was simple, full of repetition and there would be no surprises or sudden twists to anger her even further. This was calm. This was what she needed right now.

Unknown to the troubled girl, the others wouldn't return until hours later.

 **Hours later**

 _She stood there in her nightgown. Staring out across the land before her with wide eyes and slightly agape mouth. The night sky billowed with black clouds that heralded winds which threatened to tear the very ground from beneath her. The eerie light that shone from the shattered moon, draped all around her in a ghostly glow that made her skin crawl. All around her, she could hear the thunderous screams as the wind whipped at her exposed skin and scratched at her cheeks. The gravel beneath her feet making an odd noise as her feet shuffled to balance her against the harsh weather_

 _Why was she here?_ _ **How**_ _had she gotten here? She didn't know the answer, she might have if she could have thought straight... The horrific smell she knew all too well, however, put a stop to any hope of that happening._

 _The acrid stench of blood filled her nostrils as she looked about, trying to find the cause of the offending odour but to no avail at the moment. Moving forward, she found her footing was unsteady to the point she had to grip the wall to keep her footing, almost as if she was stepping on something that wasn't the gravel she felt shifting around her feet. She rounded a corner of the rooftop, taking care to stay away from the frighteningly high drop mere feet to her left._

 _Then..._ _She found the cause._

 _But by Oum, she wished she hadn't._

 _He stared at her, smiling a rather dark and sad smile as his foot gently moved the pale stones beside his feet that littered the edge of the roof, Weiss looking right back at him in horror. He was covered in the crimson liquid, from his soaked hair to his gore-stained clothes and down towards his feet which were, for some reason, bare. His worn-out trainers neatly placed beside himself with a small note placed atop them._

 _As she stared at him, he raised a bloody hand to his head and scratched it in the way only he could. "Welp. I guess you decided to come and watch, huh? Not too surprised. You did say it would make you happy" he grinned, blood spilling out from between his teeth. "Least I managed to finally make you smile"_

" _Wh-what? Why would I be smiling, you idiot!? Get away from there! We need to get you medical attention!" she screamed, her voice sounding oh so far away and slightly muffled as she watched him in abject terror, what had he done!? Why was he doing this!? Was... Was this because of what she'd said? No, no that couldn't be true!... could it?_

 _He looked at her in a confused manner, cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow, the split flesh seeming ready to peel away at the stretching of the torn muscle. "What are you talking about? Look for yourself if you don't believe me" he said simply, pulling out a small hand mirror from his pocket, seemingly untouched by the copious amount of the dark liquid around it, seeming oddly familiar to her._

 _He gently raised the mirror, though the reflective surface was small, she could see herself plane as day in it. The sight shook her to her very core. It was_ her _, but... at the same time... it_ wasn't _. Hair so black it seemed to drown out all light, eyes the shade of the very blood that covered the smiling boy before her, her lips seemingly covered with it as well. Her once pleasant and proper clothes were now replaced by a black leather jacket and torn jeans._

 _The crimson life force was spattered across her, from her hands to her stomach to her face. The worst part however? Was her smile that nearly made her wretch. It was twisted into a vicious grin that seemed ready to split her face apart and it was very clearly directed at Jaune who teetered on the edge of the building like it wasn't even there._

" _T-that… that isn't me!" she screamed, trying her best to move towards the edge to grab him. To pull him away from the edge, but her body wouldn't move, like she was frozen in time. Only there to view the scene before her. Only there to watch the boy jump._

" _Of course it is, Weiss!" he smiled cheerily, she suddenly found herself mere inches from him. Now she was so close, she could smell the stench of the gore in its' fullest and hear the audible noise of the blood as it trickled across his torn-up face. Attempting to wrap her arms around him to pull him back, she found she still wasn't able to move an inch as she stared at him, tears streaming down her face as she watched the boy before her raise a hand to her cheek. Gently stroking it, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake, he pulled it away slowly and let it fall beside him. "I should have known loving you wouldn't make you happy. I_ am _pretty worthless, aren't I? Why would someone like you ever fall for a pathetic waste of life like me? Heck I even nearly got you expelled, what kind of person who deserves your love would do that? Well… I hope this makes you even happier then you look now" he smiled one last time before stretching his arms wide and leaning backwards._

 _With ferocity and energy she never knew she could muster, Weiss pulled at the invisible force binding her, her muscles screaming for rest, her voice growing horse as she begged for him to stop. But he didn't. And she couldn't move to save him. She watched as the smiling boy gently stepped off the roof, falling to the ground far below._

 _As he left the ground, Weiss found herself flying forwards, the invisible chains no longer holding her back as she landed at the edge of the very building she had found herself upon._

 _There he was._

 _Even more blood leaking from his broken body as he looked back at her with empty eyes, his limbs broken and sticking out at grotesque angles._

 _Yet still he smiled. In death he still smiled at her. Broken in body and soul and yet he smiled_ _ **at her.**_

 _Weiss stared at him, unable to tear her eyes from the scene before her. Her body shook, her eyes watered and her hands came up and grabbed at her hair, pulling at it with force enough that she could have torn it from her scalp._

 _Then, when she thought nothing more terrifying could make itself known to her, she saw them..._

 _Bones. Hundreds of them, all broken and splintered and each and every one of them holding the tattered remains of a black hoodie or shreds of a pair of blue jeans. She was laying atop a mountain of bones on which she found she could do little to move away from. She hadn't been standing on gravel... but the_ bones _of the boy she had just watched die..._

 _Weiss Schnee screamed._

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Weiss' terrified voice ripped through the silence, tearing at the darkness that suddenly surrounded her as her frenzied eyes darted around the space she found herself in.

Where was she!?

Where was Jaune!?

What was going on!?

It hurt!

Why did her chest hurt so much!?

Why was it so dark!?

A sudden weight gripped her, trying to pin her down. In fear Weiss struggled with all her might to get away from the person grabbing at her, throwing punches and kicks that hit nothing as she tried with all her might to get away. She had to get help! She had to get _him_ help! She-

"Weiss!" came the concerned voice of the being that had gripped her. It was a voice so familiar to her, a voice that seemed to calm her body slightly as she heard it. "Weiss… it's me. It's Ruby. Calm down, it's okay"

That name. Ruby? But how was she here? How was she on the rooftop?

The darkness was suddenly removed as the tired yet concerned faces of Blake and Ruby stared at her with worry. The room she found herself in, barely lit by a dim light she couldn't find the source of, was her own... her own dorm room and _not_ the rooftop she had been on mere moments ago.

It was then Weiss took in her surroundings. She saw the bunk of her partner, gently swaying as the ropes that supported it creaked ever so slightly. She smelt the familiar odour of roses and cookies as she spotted the small flurry of petals wafting through the air. She took in the sounds of the what appeared to be the early dawn, the barely audible sound of crickets chirping in the distance, the flutter of the gentle wind as it caressed the wooden panes of their rooms' window and the slow and mildly panicked breathing of the two other occupants of the room.

Gently moving a shaking hand, down towards the covers she seemed to have trapped herself in, Weiss felt a sudden dampness in the sheet.

"Blood!" she screeched, throwing up her arms and scanning the wet sheets for the crimson horror only to find… a thin sheen of sweat covering her body.

"Weiss, there's no blood" Ruby attempted to sooth her, voice taking on a caring and nurturing tone. "It's alright, you just had a nightmare, you're okay I promise you" her tired eyes scanned her face for signs of more distress, clearly thinking up a million different ways to try and calm her down.

Doing her best to get her breathing under control, Weiss slowly felt her mind start to allow information to process.

 _A nightmare? Was that all that was? But it felt so real… I… what? But that means he's…_

Shaking her head, Weiss banished the painful thoughts. She needed to try and focus on the girls before her.

"Would you like me to get you a glass of water?" came the mildly sleepy voice of Blake, as her worried expression lessened every time Weiss's breathing grew more even.

Unable to respond properly, Weiss instead chose to simply nod her head.

The padding of her feet was all Weiss heard for a few seconds, reacting slightly when Ruby gently took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. In any other situation Weiss would have torn her hand away and scolded her for being so clingy… but right now… she felt the unnatural urge for human contact.

When Blake returned, Weiss gratefully took the glass of liquid and brought it to her lips. Forcing her shaking body to hold as still as she could make it as she sipped. The Raven-haired girl taking a stance beside her bed, book in hand. Ruby moved further onto the bed, her eye mask lazily strapped atop her head, curling her legs beneath herself as she got comfortable.

They stayed like that for close to 10 minutes, Weiss doing her best to keep the beat steady and her limbs from twitching as she attempted to even appear calm.

"Weiss… do you wanna talk about it? I know what Yang did and frankly she's not in my good books right now either" Ruby attempted to smile at her, but even she couldn't muster much more than a half-hearted up turn of her lips. "I… I didn't hear what you two talked about but… guessing it was pretty bad"

Before Weiss could respond to the question, the door to their room was quietly opened, the light of the hallway stabbing into the dim room and causing the trio to wince as the slightly silhouetted Yang appeared in the hallway, her body shiny with sweat and her eyes slightly red around the edges. She seemed to be attempting to be quiet, not realising that the people she was attempting to not awaken were watching her with a mix of understanding, mild annoyance and outright anger.

As she turned, Yang seemed to finally spot the fact she was not alone in her consciousness. Her body going rigid as she caught sight of the visibly shaken heiress who shot her an icy glare.

"Oh… hey…" she spoke in an unusually quiet tone. "Is… everything… okay?" she asked, receiving a mildly disappointed huff from her sister. Blake was the one to step up and talk to her.

"I'm going for a walk, care to join me Yang?" she said, her voice clearly indicating she didn't have much of choice in the matter.

Nodding her head slowly, Yang once again turned to her sister. "I'll talk to you later… Okay, Rubes?"

"… Sure" was the only reply she got. Her sister not even looking at her, instead keeping her attention on the angry girl beside her. Sighing in defeat, Yang followed Blake out of the door.

* * *

"I dunno what to do Blake. I mean, I know I screwed up, I… I couldn't even sleep I was that messed up about what happened. Ruby wouldn't even _look_ at me and Weiss looked just about ready to kill me" Exclaimed a rather distressed sounding Yang.

Blake, who was beside her, had been rather surprised when a rather angry looking Ruby had crashed through the library doors with a burst of her semblance. She was followed by the pleading words of Yang as she called after her sister, begging her to just listen to her. To let her explain her actions so she could understand. Ruby clearly hadn't wanted to listen however, using another burst of speed to rocket out of the opposite doors and ignoring the screech of protest from the angry librarian.

A defeated looking had been left to let her shoulders slump as she stared at the doors which swung gently from the speed with which Ruby had exited the room. Blake had been about ready to go and ask her partner what she had done when Yang had slowly made her way over to her instead, slumping down into a chair beside her and slamming her head down onto the table, once again ignoring the cry of displeasure from the librarian.

The only words Blake had managed to get out of her for a while were 'I'm so stupid' and 'never listen to my plans'. Eventually however, Yang had raised her head and had given Blake a breakdown of her version of events and what she had done. _Shockingly_ Blake hadn't exactly agreed with Yang's plan but had opted to simply keep her mouth shut. Her original plan had been to speak to Yang in the morning once things had calmed down slightly and try and help her sort this out. Clearly that wasn't going to happen however. The rest of their time had been taken up with Yang gently hitting her head on the table, muttering about how much of an idiot she was and Blake reading her book. It had been obvious she wouldn't be getting any more information out of Yang at the time. Upon returning to their dorms in the evening, they found Weiss sleeping restlessly in her bed and muttering things in her sleep. Ruby had, the second she'd seen her sister, shot onto her own bed and proceeded to pretend to fall asleep. Yang had let out a dejected sigh and had muttered a barely audible 'goodnight' to Blake as she clambered up onto her bunk and attempted to fall asleep.

No more than a few hours later did Blake watch Yang as she got up and quietly left the room in her workout clothes. Frankly, it had allowed Blake to relax as she had been unable to sleep due to worry as she kept hearing her partner toss and turn in her sleep. At least Yang had gone to do something to help get out some of the stress she had clearly been building up, that had made Blake slightly happier.

"I..." Yang trailed off as she tried to find the words, running her hands through her hair as she sat on the bench they'd found in one of Beacon's many gardens. If anyone had walked by, they would have been rather confused to see two students sitting on a bench this early, one in their pyjamas and the other in some form of sportswear. But lucky for the two girls, it was the _very_ early morning and no one was around to question their state of dress. "I just don't get why the hell she's so angry with me! All I did was try to help!"

Blake's reply to such stupid and foolish words? The cracking of her book against the back of her partners head and keeping a stoic face as she returned the book to in front of her, ignoring the red eyed girl beside her.

"Mind explaining what the hell that was for!?" she growled, Blake sighed gently and looked her way casually, quirking an eyebrow.

"That pain you're feeling right now? Imagine that pain constantly, coursing through your heart, mind and soul. Imagine how you would feel if that pain skyrocketed every time you saw someone you'd hurt badly. That seeing their face would make you remember that one stupid mistake you made which caused their pain. You'd want to bottle it away. To not have to openly face those feelings, and even lying to your team about how you're doing because of your pride. Hiding away your anger, sadness and fear." she continued with a hint of actual annoyance in her tone. "Then imagine if say… Ruby decided to lock you in a room with the reason your feeling so much pain. All those emotions you'd been burying would be brought right to the surface and would explode forth in the only way they would do in such a situation. Screaming, yelling and probably violence would ensue because all Ruby did was 'try to help'. Would you be glad that Ruby did that, or would you resent her for doing it? I think you know the answer to that" she finished, looking intensely at the blonde who, for once, looked at a loss for words.

She had clearly taken her words to heart though, the realisation of just how big a blunder she'd made was clearly etched upon her face. With slow and purposeful movements, Yang pulled her head between her arms and rested her forehead upon her knees.

"I'm not angry at you Yang, you made a stupid mistake that caused a lot of pain for the people/person you care about, and now you have to live with the consequences… I should know… so I wont judge you. But this is something you _need_ to face. I'm being a hypocrite right now telling you this but… I don't like seeing you like this... You're my teammate and friend... but so are Weiss and Ruby... even if me and Weiss didn't have the best of starts... I think I can at least consider us having some sort of friendship"

"Heh… what am I gonna do Blake?" she questioned, raising her head up and looking directly into the girls' golden eyes. "Weiss is going through hell and hates me now, Ruby won't even _look_ at me, I got Nora in trouble with her team and hell… I don't even wanna think about what vom-what _Jaune's_ going through with all the crap I helped to make worse, especially with all the stuff Weiss said to him…" she paused, turning around and taking hold of a mildly surprised Blake's hand. "You're my friend Blake, heck I think I might be able to call you one of my best friends, because you listened to all the crap I got going on inside my head and yet you don't seem to let it bother you! You are kinda a good opposite to me... When I get all 'smashy, smashy' and don't think... You are always there to try and rain me in!"

"Heh, emphasis on the _try_ part, you are kind of a hard person to control Yang" she smiled... but there was something in Yang's tone that made her feel somewhat tense, like there was a meaning behind her words that she wasn't getting.

"See! _That's_ what I'm talking about! You can go all sassy and crap and don't care who you say it to! You're... You're awesome, Blake... So Please... Please tell me what to do? 'Cuz right now, I am all for you taking control"

There was a pleading tone to Yang's voice, almost like she was beyond desperate at the moment for her help... had things really been _that_ bad? Then again, from Weiss' reaction earlier, she wouldn't be surprised if she refused to even acknowledge her existence tomorrow... maybe that was why Yang was acting all nervous?

Blake thought for a moment, her response was something Yang was relying on deeply, almost like her entire future was relying on it. Even if she found the idea ridiculous, she had never seen Yang act like this before... so... so fragile and scared.

"Honestly? I think it may be best to just try and keep your distance for a little while, don't do what those two did and ignore her because apparently they were the only ones who could see how bad an idea _that_ was" Yang let out a humourless chuckle and looked at her from the corner of her deep, lilac eyes. "Be around, make it clear you'll talk to her if she wants to, but _always_ make it clear that it's _her_ choice, because if one thing about Weiss is clear is that she hates having control taken from her"

Yang nodded, her playful personality returning for a moment as she shot Blake a lopsided grin that quickly shifted into a frown as a thought seemed to cross her.

"A-Anything else? Like... how I can make her and Jaune hate me enough to have me expelled?"

Blake was taken aback by her words, how could she ever think that either of them, no matter how angry they were, would have her expelled!? She said just as much, a deep frown crossing her features.

"Don't think like that! They would never do that to you! You... You messed up, but it's not like you wouldn't already know if you were going to be expelled... So, don't let that get to you. You and I both know that Miss Goodwitch would already be here if you were in any danger of being expelled. Besides, if they think I'll my partner get expelled, they have another thing coming. I've only _just_ gotten used to the insanity that comes from being _your_ partner and I have no intention of having someone potentially even more insane taking your place"

 _That_ finally got a reaction out of her that made Blake happy, Yang's eyes going wide as she seemed to realise just how right Blake was. She turned to her, an absolutely _beaming_ smile on her face before she leaped in and enveloped her in a hug that brought a heat to Blake's cheeks in embarrassment.

"You're right! Oh, gods, you're right!... heh... You're the best, Blakey! I-" Yang stopped midsentence, and looked at her with slowly widening eyes and a small blush coming over her cheeks. Blake looked at her with a confused expression, face moving just a fraction closer to try and find out if something was wrong, before Yang jumped away in a panic acting like Blake was made of boiling water.

"Yang! What's wrong!?"

"N-Nothing! Nope! Nothing is wrong! Not at all!" she said in a hurried and panicked tone, not even looking at Blake who tried her best to understand what was going on at the moment, Yang never acted like this... not at all...

"Yang?" she asked, reaching out her hand to place on her shoulder but Yang wheeled around to look at her with a steaming red face and an... odd look in her eyes... one that reminded her of-she immediately smacked down that thought. There was no way that was possible, and she was disgusted with herself for _ever_ comparing Yang, her partner and friend, to _him._.. even if it was a younger, _supposedly,_ kinder version of him...

"Um... Can we... Can we maybe talk more about how I'm gonna deal with the fallout of Weiss and Jaune... b-because I'm _kinda_ scared of what P-Money might do to me" she laughed, it was a terrible attempt at humour and Blake knew it, but she latched onto it like the lifeline it was to get her mind out of the dark thoughts it had gone on to.

"Yes, I think that's a valid concern" she said with her own terrible attempt at humour... she knew Yang saw it for what it was, but seemingly for once didn't pry, and for that Blake was eternally grateful as the two of them sat down once more to talk... both of them trying to not take notice of the atmosphere that had settled around them.

* * *

Jaune hadn't gone back to his room for a long time after he left the office. Instead he had chosen to wander the grounds of Beacon, wary of how late it was getting but couldn't bring himself to face what he knew would happen as soon as he entered his room. In truth, his mind was also rather distracted, Ozpin's words were laying heavy upon him. Of course, he'd known. The guy seemed to know everything.

" _I see… so to protect your friends you chose to lie knowing you would be expelled if I saw through your ruse… even at the expense of damaging your families' reputation?"_

" _Yes sir. I_ _ **am**_ _angry at Yang, Nora and Weiss but… Yang and Nora were doing what they thought was right and I_ _ **know**_ _just how hurt some people would be if they were expelled. All the pain it would bring… I couldn't do it" came Jaune's sullen reply, his head hung low as he told Ozpin the truth._

" _Hrmmm…" came the headmaster's reply. "Truth be told, I was surprised it wasn't due to lingering feelings for Miss Schnee. Even a heart full of rage can still hold love for someone. I am not saying she doesn't deserve your ire but I did not expect your reasoning for not turning her in would not include her" Even Jaune could tell he was carefully measuring his words, clearly knowing that Jaune's mood was... kinda like a powder-keg at the moment._

" _Hah… not a chance. She gave up any right for me to care about her feelings when she said what she said" he near growled, doing his best to not explode in front of Headmaster Ozpin. "But I'm also not the kind of person who goes about destroying other people's lives. So, I chose to lie… if I may ask though Headmaster?" he enquired, lifting his head to look into the eyes of the headmaster._

" _Of course, Mr Arc"_

" _Why am I not being punished? I lied to you, I had a hand in destroying part of your school! So… why?"_

" _It's quite simple, Mr Arc. Love can cause a person to do some rather foolish things, especially when that love causes such emotional torment. I have been around long enough to know that what you and Miss Schnee did pales in comparison to what some people have done. Why, I heard young Ruby's mother nearly destroyed half the city with her weapon; thorn bush, when she spotted another huntress attempting to drag away her beloved for some sordid deed" the headmaster grew a small smile at the fond memory. "So a small fire and a broken doorway is negligible by comparison. Besides, this isn't the first time you've lied to me Mr Arc, if I was going to expel you for lying to me, I would have done it when I read over your poorly forged transcripts"_

 _For the second time since entering that office, Jaune was struck dumb as he stared at Ozpin. His mouth gaping open and closed like a fish. This man… he had known everything form the start… that was… that was insane. But then… why did he even-_

" _If you're confused as to why I allowed someone with next to no training, no tactical knowledge or even an aura into my school is simple. I consider myself a fairly good judge of character and when I saw you and your name I had the feeling that you were destined for something great, and up until recently you have given me no reason to doubt that you are a level headed, intelligent and somewhat strong young man" Ozpin answered without being question, seeing the widening of Mr Arc's eyes as confirmation that he'd hit the nail right on the head. "But I will say this, Mr Arc. My kindness only goes so far. So please refrain from helping to destroy any more walls or the property of teachers, myself included, alright?"_

 _The information flowing though his head was almost too much to bear, he barely even registered nodding his head and standing up from his seat, thanking the professor before making his way to the elevator. His conscious mind only truly taking in more information when Ozpin call to him as the doors began to close._

" _Do try and keep your wits about you and think clearly, Mr Arc. I imagine you will have a rather trying time ahead of you. Love as true as the one you feel for Miss Schnee is not something that goes away, no matter how much you will it to"_

 _With that the door's closed, leaving Jaune unable to reply to the man's words, to deny that he had any feelings left for Weiss._

* * *

Unknown to the boy, a figure appeared beside the unsurprised Ozpin, who casually took a sip of his coffee before turning to a mildly annoyed looking, Qrow.

"Dunno what you were thinking letting him get off so easily. Guy is a loose cannon right now, if he explodes again at someone who decides to get angry right back at him and throws a punch… there's gonna be blood" the crackling voice of the tired sounding hunter remarked as he took a swig from his hip flask.

"You know better than anyone what could happen if I buried him beneath more sadness and regret, I'd rather he didn't end up spending his life angry at the world and himself all because he was a young man who was so deeply hurt by love, I hope that being spared even more pain will help him to recover from the incidents he has unfortunately been a key part of" Ozpin replied calmly, quirking an eyebrow at the slightly angry looking Qrow.

"Yeah, yeah… I get it. You don't want scraggly ending up like me" Qrow growled, shoving his flask back into its holster. "Heh… it really was funny watching Katherine* Winchester running away screaming as Summer chased after her. Thorn bush ready to set her, and anything within a twenty-metre radius of her, on fire. Kept telling her to stop trying to grab my ass but she just wouldn't listen… heh, I miss those days" Qrow smiled sadly, hand moving back to his flask before he stopped himself, choosing to instead to take out a picture aged by time, coffee stains… and tears.

Ozpin smiled at Qrow sadly "I do too, old friend… I do too"

* * *

Jaune couldn't understand why Ozpin thought he was still in love with Weiss, it just didn't make sense! Him revealing he had known about the forged transcripts made more sense that that! After all she'd said, after all she'd done… how could anyone love someone after all that!?

Closing his eyes briefly, Jaune pushed down those thoughts. He'd just have to face them at a later date… like so many other things.

Right now, he found himself in front of his door, the hallway empty of life and sound as he attempted to pump himself up for what he hoped was a quiet room, the last thing he needed was for Nora to wake up and think talking to him right now was a good idea.

He knew he needed to at _some_ point but right now, all he wanted to do was sleep and be done with the day. This horrible day.

Gingerly unlocking the door, he entered. Thankfully there were no lights on, no screaming insanity or even a pacing Pyrrha, worried for where he was.

As quietly as he could, he moved forward and closed the door behind him, barely creating a whisper of a click as it closed.

Entering the bathroom, he stripped himself of his garments though he kept on his white shirt and blue boxers as he wasn't going to risk waking someone up just to get his onesie.

As he gently brushed his teeth, Jaune looked into the mirror before him. When had he looked so tired? Sure, it was late but… there was no way this was just from lack of sleep. His eyes looked sullen and hazy, struggling to focus on things unless he physically tried to. His skin looked paler than usual, almost clammy and worn out. Even his hair seemed even more wild and like a birds' nest than usual. It was probably all the stress that'd been thrust upon him.

"Seriously. You're effecting me even now?" he questioned his reflection, seeing the form of the angry brat instead of himself. Naturally it didn't answer, instead it simply copied his movements perfectly, as a reflection should.

Grumbling quietly, Jaune spat out his toothpaste, washed off the excess and cleaned his face before drying it as he padded towards the door.

The one thing Jaune had not expected to appear when he opened the door was a solemn looking Pyrrha, who stared at him with red raw eyes and a small quiver in her lips. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were rimmed with bags. Her clothes, which were usually so well cared for, were a mess. Like she had been tossing and turning in her bed, unable to get proper sleep.

* * *

Without a word between the two of them, she brought Jaune into a hug so full of the emotions she couldn't say for fear of waking the others. All her worry, anger, sadness, fear was felt as she hugged him tightly. There was also a hint of happiness. He was back, he was safe and now she was happy. Growing more and more as she continued to hold him and he gripped her, Jaune was safe and now she could hold him once again.

* * *

As she held him, Jaune felt a small trickle flow down his cheek, at first, he couldn't understand what it was. It stung his eyes and was hot and, as it travelled past his lips, salty. Until he felt more and more wetness begin to flow down his cheeks, his grip on Pyrrha tightened as she held him. Now he understood what it was. The hurt. The pain. The anger. It all came silently out, tearing from him as he shook and shivered in the girls grasp. Her shoulder growing wet as his tears pored into it. All the while she simply held him, gently stroking his back and holding him close. Letting him get out all the emotions she knew he would have been trying to hide if she hadn't interfered.

They stayed like that for a while, neither caring to check to time, before Pyrrha finally released him. The tears having stopped but his face stained with the trails they had left behind. Gently taking his hand and leading him to his bed, letting him drop silently onto it before taking a small wet wipe from her own desk and cleaned up his face.

Managing a smile, he silently thanked her as he gingerly put his body beneath the covers. Pyrrha smiled in return, leaning in to give him another hug which he gladly accepted. Wrapping his arm around her back as her head was pressed to his chest.

"I'll always be here if you need to talk, I wont pry for more information, just tell me what you feel you can, okay? I'm your partner and your friend, it's the least I can do" she whispered, her emerald eyes shining with new life as she smiled at him.

Not trusting his voice to remain quiet enough, Jaune simply smiled weakly and nodded his head. Fully letting go of Pyrrha, she silently moved back to her own bed and lay herself underneath it, throwing him a small smile before her eyes closed.

Sleep seemed to find her instantly, a sight which made Jaune glad, she had clearly been worried about him since the events of earlier today. Ren and Nora had likely told her what had happened and due to the fact that Nora was still in the room, Pyrrha had obviously tried to be open minded about the situation. Hopefully she'd try and be open with Yang as well. He may need her when he eventually spoke to the both of them. He'd clearly made it worse when he hadn't returned straight away from Ozpin's office. By all rights she deserved to be angry at him, furious even when he hadn't even called her. Yet she hadn't been. Instead she had comforted him when he unknowingly needed it most. Made sure he was okay and mothered him until he was able to stop crying. As his eyes drifted shut, Jaune knew he had to repay her somehow.

He would decide on it tomorrow. After he had dealt with whatever the morning would bring, be it lightning or hellfire.

Jaune wasn't too stupid to think he would be okay after a simple hug and a cry but… right now, after all the stuff he'd been through today… he just wanted to sleep.

Jaune had already had a long week and it was only _Monday_.

 **Like I said, this is about just under a third of what I've been writing but I realised it was getting too long and that it was kinda taking the piss with how long it was taking.**

 **I will be releasing the next pink lemonade chapter (finally) next week but hopefully I will find the time to get the rest of this chapter finished as well.**

 ***The name Katherine is the name of the Cardinal of Winchester's (the man who Cardin is based off) mother**


	12. Honesty and a helping hand

**_EDITED_**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Honesty and a helping hand**

If someone were to take a look at her, most would see a young girl who didn't realise the way the world worked and was just a child playing an adults' game. A little girl obsessed with cookies and who was probably going to die on her first real mission. Someone who could never understand the pain some people have had to go through just to get by and would assume that a pat on the back would make it all better.

Ruby Rose wasn't as naïve as many assumed her to be, however.

She had lived her life and it had been full of pain. Yes, her childhood had been a happy one, but only at the start of it. Ruby had gone through agonising pain and torment that would have broken others.

She could remember the day clearly, despite her young age.

A kiss on the head and a promise to come back home as soon as they could. Ruby had waited. She had waited for so long and had kept hope longer than anyone else had.

But the day her uncle stumbled through the door… covered in blood and tears pouring down his face as he clutched at a torn and bloodied white hood… that was when Ruby realised Her mother, Summer Rose, would never be coming home.

It got worse after that. It shouldn't have been able to get worse, yet it did.

Her sister did her best to try and look tough and unaffected by the passing of her mother, Summer had been as much of a mother to her as she had to Ruby herself. But Ruby could see the pain hidden behind her lilac eyes. Even from a young age Ruby could see how her sister kept treating her like she would shatter at the lightest of bumps, how she would flinch whenever their father would stumble past them, barely registering either was there, and bumped into her. His size alone was nearly enough to knock her over while Ruby watched on in confusion.

Yang had, and in a way she still did, kept her feelings buried no matter how much she clearly wanted to just let her feelings out... She forced herself to try and replace her mother, treating Ruby as more of a daughter than a little sister. It had been… horrible. Ruby had tried her best try and talk to her _sister_ but had gotten a girl trying to be something she could never hope to be. Ruby needed someone she could talk to… someone who would let her be vulnerable around them and be able to do so with her.

Yang refused to ever acknowledge just what was going on. Never admit just how upset she clearly was. It got to the point that Ruby just didn't feel able to admit her true emotions. That she would just put on a smile and try and make her sister and dad smile as best she could. She never really got a proper one, however. Nope... They _did_ smile, it just never met their eyes. They were always so hollow and dull like all the light and happiness in the world had gone. Ruby just wasn't good enough to help because she didn't know _how_ to help… until the nightmares started.

The first night Ruby had awoken to the sound of muffled cries and the shuffling of sheets, she had been confused at first, where were these sounds coming from? Why did they sound so pained?

The fear of the unknown had gripped her at first, the irrational mind of a girl barely able to even understand the world she lived in telling her that a monster was in her room. A monster that had come for her after it had taken her mother, unsatisfied with just taking _her_ away. They wanted the entire family.

It was then, as she'd hidden beneath the covers that she'd heard it.

"N-No… please… please come back"

That was a voice Ruby could have never mistaken, a voice that she had known ever since her mind could even hold memories. It was also a voice that had belonged to a body that had decided that they should share a room ever since _it_ happened. They had told her it would be like one big sleepover that would never have to end. That they would bring pizza and drinks and they could watch movies together before they went to sleep. It was all a lie and Ruby could see it. They were just doing what they thought would make her happy, not realising that _their_ happiness would make her happy

Forcing herself to be brave, Ruby tore the covers from her head and looked to find her sister writhing in her bed. Covered in sweat and flushed red as she twisted and turned, reaching out for things she couldn't see.

Ruby had sat there in fear for a while, unable to think of what she could do.

In the end the only thing she could think to do was to leave her bed and go to her. As she'd drew closer, the pained look on Yang's face had near brought her to tears. Even as she sat next to her, even as she racked her brains… Ruby's mind couldn't think of anything to do to stop her sister's pain.

An idea had _finally_ come to mind when Yang's hand flew towards her, it had near landed in her lap. A stupid and childish little idea… and yet it had been the only one she had.

She gently took Yang's hand in hers, slowly enclosing her hand within her own and keeping it still as the rest of her body writhed.

The reaction wasn't instant… but as the night wore on, Ruby's tired eyes did take notice that Yang slowly but surely stilled. Her whimpers stopped, and her body relaxed. It had brought relief and joy and despite the sadness that loomed over her, and her entire family, Ruby was able to smile at the serene look her sister's face had took.

She had done it every night that her sister had nightmares, which were near nightly. Holding her hand, and when that didn't prove enough, gently humming tunes she had heard their mother often do whenever she was home to tuck them in. She had sacrificed sleep just to ensure that Yang managed to find her own sleep uninterrupted.

It didn't help during the day, but it was the least she could do.

Her dad was an entirely different story, however.

Her dad just… stopped being her dad. She and Yang were like ghosts walking about the house. She could see, hear and _smell_ him yet he didn't seem like he could do the same. There were days where he wouldn't even get out of bed, a bottle in one hand and a photograph in the other.

This had been going on for some time until… well until it all came to a head.

Ruby had been too young to understand just what was going through her dad's mind when she found him in the kitchen one night, fighting with her uncle Qrow. The wood they crashed into exploding into splinters and metal twisted and torn beyond repair as it was used as weaponry. Her dad had a large cut on his arm and a bloodied blade was in one of the corners of the room. She had once again been far too young to understand just what that meant. She _had_.

She saw her uncle doing his best to pin her dad or lock his head between his arm to choke him out, screaming in pain when her dad managed to gouge a finger into his eye or bite into his flesh.

She hadn't seen the end of the fight, Yang had dived in front of her when the two of them had come hurtling towards them, dragging her away into their room and cupping her hands over her ears until the muffled sounds of combat came to a stop.

Ruby could only assume at the time that her uncle had won since she heard him calling out for them, telling them that it was alright now and that he needed their help. Yang had gotten up to do just that but had forced her to sit down when she herself had tried to leave with her. Ruby hadn't been brave enough at the time to try and defy her, her big sister was usually right about these sort of things, so she had little reason to doubt her...

After that… things had been different, not worse or better just… different. Her dad, after receiving what had clearly been a sound beating from her uncle, was more aware of their presence yet he didn't exactly talk much still. He'd tried to help make breakfast a few times with Yang yet had gotten angry the second things had gone wrong and walked off to leave his daughter to finish.

Her uncle was around a lot more, his presence was a welcome thing and he had even brought in a huntsman trained puppy she and Yang had named Zwei to help her father through his depression, he had cuddled him when he cried, made him take him on walks when he didn't want to be in the house and just been there in a way that Ruby and Yang couldn't be... someone to shout and scream at when it all got too much who would just walk up and comfort them once they were done with no judgement at all...

Ruby had helped in her own way as well, through keeping Yang company on the nights, she also did her best to spend as much time as she possibly could with her dad. At first, he didn't do much in the way of talking to her, though he had at least acknowledged her presence. It had taken months of her trying new and different ways of trying to help him, but in the end, it had actually been her sister making a stupid mistake that had drawn her father out of the cavernous mental state he had been drowning in.

Her uncle coming and saving them and a severe shouting at from their dad had lead to him bursting into tears and dragging them into a hug as he begged them to be safe, that he would be there for them and would never leave them alone again.

Things had gotten _actually_ better since then. Her dad was actually around for them, talking to them, tucking them into bed and making meals for them like he used to. Yang's nightmares occurred much less frequently and eventually stopped, or at least to the point where they no longer disturbed her sleep so obviously. Her uncle was still dealing with his own pain, her mother and him were clearly good friends with how much time they spent together, but he made sure that he didn't show it around her or Yang while they had been young.

In short. Ruby was not as naïve as people made her out to be, neither was she stupid. She just simply chose to not let things bother her like they used to.

Because when times got bad, when things looked dark, Ruby needed to try and be that little beacon of cheer for those she cared about, to try and see the bright side of things no matter the situation and if people treated her like a baby for it then they could for all she cared. She didn't care so long as her friends and family were happy.

It didn't matter to her that she was most definitely socially awkward and struggled to form coherent sentences when she was flustered.

She didn't want anyone else to suffer like her and her family had. No one, no matter who they were or what they'd done, deserved to suffer such pain.

That was why Ruby currently held the hand of her best-female-friend, trying her best to calm her down.

She barely took notice of anything else around her. Not even looking at her sister when she came back into their dorm room, she didn't really want to see her right now anyway. She didn't want to be angry at her sister, but she had caused this mess. She had forced Jaune and Weiss to come together, along with Nora, and had caused them both so much pain. So, she had to admit that was angry. Furious even.

But that didn't matter right now. Her friend _did_ matter.

"Do… do you want to talk about it?" Ruby asked nervously, gingerly holding her hand slightly tighter.

"I… it's… it's nothing Ruby, I just had a nightmare" Weiss murmured, her breathing now much more even as she held her head low yet kept eye contact with Ruby. Her sapphire eyes staring into her silver ones, red rimmed and stained with tears she was clearly doing her best to get rid of.

"Oh… Ermmm okay… well, if it's okay, would you mind telling me what happened? I… I'm angry at Yang, what she did was terrible, and I'm not going to even try and make sense of what the heck was going through her head" Ruby admitted, trying to get her words out quickly when she felt Weiss's hand tighten in her grip. "I just want to help, Weiss… please let me help?" she near begged, doing her best to convince her to let go of her pride and just _tell_ her... she'd failed to get through Yang's but she'd be darned if she would stop with Weiss!

Weiss's eyes look at hers, staring intently like she was trying to find something in her eyes. With a sigh, Weiss looked away and nodded her head, clearly finding what she was looking for.

"Your **_sister_ **and that brutish Valkyrie girl managed to somehow get a hold of my scroll-" the way she said Yang's name... Ruby could understand her being really angry at the moment, but she said it like it was a swear! "-and when I went to search for it in the combat room, I found _he_ was also there. I tried to leave but was locked inside by those two moronic degenerates, both refusing to allow us to leave until we talked… _I_ was more than happy to simply ignore his presence, trying to find a way to leave and get away from the situation" her next words were laced with unhidden venom. " _He_ decided to try and talk, however. Trying to put the blame on both of us when it was _clearly_ his own fault and not mine" she growled, not noticing the rather disappointed and unconvinced look Ruby gave her. "Saying that I had hurt him just as much as he had me… saying that he wanted to be _friends_ , bah! Like that monster would ever care enough to actually want a friendship with me. When he said that, I.. well I got incredibly angry at him-because I didn't care to tolerate his lies anymore" she added hastily, confusing Ruby with the incredibly out of place behaviour in this already hard to understand situation. "Words were said. He told me that I was undeserving of love and a monster… so I… I…" her hands, despite still being in the grip of Ruby, shook and her eyes screwed shut. Before Ruby could raise her worries, Weiss released a heavy breath and forced her body under control once again.

"I gave my reply and after that I used a dust crystal to make my escape from the room" she said like it didn't matter that she had destroyed personal property, clearly her perplexed face was noticed as Weiss let out another sigh. "Yes. We didn't get away with it, Ruby. Miss Goodwitch brought both he and I to see Professor Ozpin where he asked us to tell him the events of what exactly happened. Arc… probably to try and appear the better person, chose to lie and say that what occurred was an accident"

"W-wait doesn't that mean he cared about you getting in trou-" Ruby attempted to point out but Weiss cut her off.

"I already thought that Ruby. It turned out he didn't care in the slightest what happened to me, his words not mine might I add, he cared about what happened to Yang and Nora. He cared about their obvious affections towards certain people… effectively if they hadn't been in danger he would have let me get expelled"

* * *

It was so obvious to Weiss, If he couldn't have her then he would have had her expelled. Oh, but he couldn't do that knowing the people he depended on to give him _sympathy_ and _attention_ would also be affected, oh no, that would cause problems for the horrible person that he was. So he lied, yes saving her, but more importantly it made him appear the nice person that cared too much about his friends to let the _mean and horrible_ heiress get expelled if they would as well. There was no possible way he had done it for her, no way he had done it because he cared about what happened to her.

He had said so himself after all...

"He never cared about me, that much is clear to me now"

* * *

"You're wrong…" Ruby said without meaning to, catching herself only after she said it, the shocked look she got from Weiss saying she had very much heard her words. Knowing she was basically in the deep end now, Ruby tried to take in her options. She either let Weiss get angry at her and think she was on Jaune's side, which she wasn't! She was on _both_ their sides. Or she finished her thought.

Because Ruby knew what Weiss was saying was wrong, she just didn't have reason to believe differently. Ruby did however, she had listened to the reason why more than a few times. She had listened to the contents of a certain letter that was left on a table back when this whole mess started, it was proof that… that Jaune couldn't hate Weiss… no matter what had happened between them… the love he showed in the piece of evidence proved that he couldn't hate her. He just couldn't!

Jaune was an amazing person who cared about people more than pretty much anyone outside of her family could! He was nice, caring, a good listener, didn't treat her like a kid, let her rant about weapons and gave great hugs! Ruby had met people who were as bad as Weiss was making Jaune seem, they pretended to want to be her friends, when in reality all they wanted to do was get close to her sister. That's all they ever wanted. Jaune wasn't like that, if anything he preferred being around her to Yang, definitely now that she had helped to cause this mess.

All she had to do was convince Weiss and prove to her that Jaune wasn't a bad person. Then... well, then she also needed to get Weiss to admit that she had made mistakes as well, and that wasn't gonna be easy. Ruby didn't know what but… She could tell Weiss was feeling guilty about it, screaming herself awake from a nightmare that involved her clearly being worried about Jaune was a big clue. It was obvious. To her at least.

She had dealt with Yang's nightmares where she blamed herself for their mother dying. Muttering about how sorry she was, how she didn't mean to make her have to work so hard to support them. This wasn't much different in her head.

"You're wrong Weiss. I don't think Jaune is like that… he is a good person and I _know_ that he cares about you-"

"How" Weiss near growled as she stared at her with accusing eyes, filled with denial anger, pain and… Hope? "How do you think he cares about me? How could you _ever_ think that after all that he's done and said that he cares about me? You _heard_ me when I said that he called me a monster and didn't deserve love, right?" she questioned, her stance in her bed growing firm and stubborn, like it would take an army to move her before she got her answer.

"Y-Yeah, but you were both upset and going through a lot of pain and were confused and sad… Plus, you said Jaune wanted to be friends, doesn't that prove that he _does_ care? I mean, wanting to be friends with someone means you like that person, right?" she questioned, smiling hopefully at her friend, not bothering to mention her own past experience with friends.

" _No,_ what that proves is he was willing to try and trick me into caring about his well-being again, I am never letting myself be fooled like that again" she said defiantly, crossing her arms and increasing her glare. Why did she have to make this so difficult? Ruby just wanted to help her, why couldn't Weiss just listen to her!

"Do you really believe that Weiss? Honestly, like honestly-honestly?" she asked, hoping to an almost outrageous degree that she didn't.

"Yes" she said defiantly, looking away from her as she said it.

Ruby liked hope sometimes, she liked it a lot.

"Unless you have any other reasons then I am liable to not believe you, Ruby" she huffed, turning back to her with what could only be called a triumphant look.

She didn't want to have to do this to her yet, she doubted Weiss would be able to appreciate the words right now but if she wasn't going to listen to her then she needed to bring out the big guns. Sure, she had other reasons but she doubted Weiss would listen to them.

"You uh… You know that day that Jaune tried to give you those flowers?" From the way Weiss tensed she certainly did, though she didn't answer. "Well… he also had a letter with him… he uh… he left it behind when you well, said those not very nice things to him-but I picked it up and read it! It was really nice Weiss and he left you a recorded message where he said-"

Once again, Weiss interrupted her with a huff, though her utter refusal to meet Ruby's gaze once again made that infamous hope rise. "Please, it's easy enough to fake a love note and message, I won't even entertain the idea of listening to that for some vague notion that will prove this apparent 'care' for me"

"B-But, I have more reasons! Please just let me help you Weiss" Ruby begged, she had forgotten Weiss wasn't like other people and she _definitely_ wasn't like Jaune where she could easily help him through nice words and being there for him would eventually make him open up on his problems to her. Weiss was a person who had gone through a lot of pain and clearly didn't exactly have the best of social skills with people her own age that weren't stuck up snobs, she was probably like Ruby and didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Except instead of socially awkward yet happy to make real friends, Weiss was closed off and ready to cut people out of her life if she felt hurt by them and it took a lot to even get to a point where she cared about your opinion of her.

"Will any of them be even slightly more convincing than trying to make me listen to some fake love message?" Weiss enquired, her glare softening as she noticed the despairing look in Ruby's eyes. "I do appreciate you trying to help me, Ruby. Believe me, you being here helps, but this is something I have made my mind up on and there's nothing you can to change it… I'm sorry for worrying you but I'd rather we didn't talk about that _boy_ ever again if that would be possible. I need friends I can rely on right now, friends like you and... I'm honestly quite tired and would like to try and get a little more sleep, if that's alright" she added, which at least brought a small smile to Ruby.

With a sigh, Ruby nodded, gave her partners hand another squeeze before climbing back onto her bed with a quiet 'goodnight'

She was upset that Weiss hadn't listened to her, she knew she could help if Weiss if she could get her to open up but tonight wasn't the night that would happen. But that wouldn't stop her. She wasn't going to see another group of people get torn apart by pain and anger.

She would try and talk to Jaune tomorrow, or today technically, that would be at least a little easier. At least she hoped so.

She wished she could have slept easy at that, but every time she heard Weiss murmur and whimper in her sleep her senses went into overdrive and her body sub-consciously prepared to jump down and help her again. Weiss never woke up again that night, but Ruby kept her vigil.

After all, she had done this all before.

* * *

The morning had been going about as well as Jaune had hoped it could have. He had awoken to find Nora and Ren already gone, he hadn't wanted to admit it, but he was glad that they were gone when he had woken up.

What surprised him was when he turned to find Pyrrha gone as well, with worry for having woken up late, he flew from his bed and grabbed his alarm clock. Confusingly it showed he had actually woken up a little earlier than usual. Right about now, most students would just be waking up for breakfast. With confusion, he once again looked over towards the beds of Ren and Nora. Ren was one to usually wake up early, if only to try and get his partner up. But she was also gone… had she left to try and not be around him? or maybe to try and talk to Ren, he had heard Ren tell her to stay away from the room for a little while so he had to assume the two had, had a falling out. In either case he was glad for the peace and quiet. The last thing he needed right now was Nora trying to apologise yet causing more problems between the two of them. He would talk to them when he felt he could.

Still. The question as the location to Pyrrha puzzled him, picking up his scroll he was about to call her. Both to ask where she was and to once again thank her for last night, she had been there during a dark time for him and he didn't think he could thank his partner enough for just offering a hug and a shoulder to him.

As he began to look for her contact, the door to their room gently opened to reveal a cheery looking Pyrrha who offered his bemused face a small smile. Before he could question just where she had been, the smell of bacon, toast and eggs hit him.

True enough, his nose was proven to be right when she produced a plate of the items in question and held it out to him, a plate of fruits held in her own hand.

"Good morning Jaune" she said happily, her cheery mood immediately bringing a bit of happiness to him as he smiled right back at her, only having to slightly force it. He wouldn't allow his, as of late, usually sour mood to affect her morning. She had clearly gone out of her way to make his morning a little better, and easier now that he didn't have to risk the journey to the cafeteria where he could have run into the exact group of people he was going to have to try and avoid today.

"Hey, Pyrrha" he replied, moving towards her as she happily displayed her prize. "Thanks for breakfast… and thank you for last night… you were a big help" he smiled happily, noticing how Pyrrha's arm moved to rub the one holding her food, a bashful smile taking over her face.

"It's not a worry Jaune… While I am not familiar with the problems you face I… I am more than happy to offer my help. It's the least I can do for my partner and my friend" she told him, taking a seat beside him as he tucked into his breakfast with what he hoped was his usual gusto. He didn't want to worry Pyrrha any more than he already had. He wanted to thank her for what she had done for him, not have her stressing out any more than she already had for him.

"Cheers partner… but… if it's okay with you, I'd rather not talk about yesterday, I Just want to forget about it and try and get through today, okay?" he told her in the calmest way he could. While he also didn't want to give Pyrrha any unneeded stress, he didn't exactly plan on causing himself any either. The fact he had been awoken to the sound of a scream earlier this morning, which was quickly followed by the opening and then closing of what must have been team RWBY's door… he had been halfway to tearing off his sheets and finding out if they were all okay before he remembered who exactly was in there… suffice to say the covers had been put back in place before he forced himself to go back to sleep.

He did care about Ruby being okay, but the fact that their room hadn't exploded into flame said that she was okay. That was enough for him.

"That's fine, Jaune… but please don't try and deal with it all alone again" she stopped eating and placed a hand on his shoulder, her smile turning serious. "It's not good for you to try and bottle such negative feelings up and pretend you are okay, I've done that myself when being forced to try and deal with my more… _aggravating_ fans and it caused me to curl in on myself emotionally. I'm, well… well I wont sugar coat it I am not exactly socially adept with people that aren't raving fans… when they're friends that I care a lot about. So I'm not very good at saying what to do to help yourself deal with this, but if you need someone to talk to then I will do my best to help you no matter what" Jaune smiled happily at her. He was so happy to have someone like her in his life... a friend that clearly wanted nothing but his friendship in return for her own. Suddenly Pyrrha's warm smile seemed to disappear as he eyes grew wide. Despite her powerful words of comfort, Pyrrha seemed to become nervous at the contact with him. As she began to retract her hand from him, Jaune decided he didn't like the idea of her feeling awkward around him. She had just admitted herself that she was socially awkward, just like him, so the last thing she needed was to feel like she had over stepped a boundary.

Reaching a hand out, he took hold of her hand and replaced it back onto his shoulder. Her shocked face managed to gain a small blush as she stared at him like a fish out of water, was it really so easy to embarrass the champion herself? Gods forbid he hugged her outside of him being on the verge of breaking down into a sobbing mess, she would probably pass out from the embarrassment of it all, kinda like he imagined Ruby would if he did the same to her in a public place. He honestly found that a bit funny. That was something he needed right now.

"It's okay, I don't mind a hand on my shoulder when it's someone I trust" he smiled at her, this one genuine as her own graced her face once again. "And I will Pyrrha, though you may have to smack me on the back of the head if I get a bit too down. Might not even realise it, I _have_ been informed that I can be a little dense at times" he grinned, appreciating the fact she let out a small giggle which she hid behind a hand. He was glad that the mood had taken a happier turn. Plus, it would mean that Pyrrha might not realise that he was subtly trying to divert her attention away from him and his situa-

Pyrrha's amused face quickly turned a little dark as she sent a half-hearted glare at him.

"Don't try and divert the conversations either, I may not be the best at social ques but I know _you_ Jaune" she said, her glare turning playful as she returned to her meal and he his own after he raised his hands in surrender.

Despite the situation he was in, Jaune found himself relaxing into the atmosphere. Here he wasn't troubled by all the problems that swirled and tumbled through his mind like a tornado. Here he wasn't constantly worried that he would be made to feel like human trash or that he wasn't worth any more than the ground he walked upon to the people in his life. Here he was… happy… His partner, who at this point could have basically been a big sister in his eyes, sat by his side and a delicious breakfast to start his day. It was peaceful. It was downright joyful to just be able to sit here in comfortable silence and let the morning just roll on by.

It wasn't unwelcome, however, when Pyrrha once again spoke to him.

"Jaune… ummm…" she paused, her face lowering until he could no longer see it, she looked troubled to the point where he was honestly more than a little worried as to what was on her mind.

"Pyrrha?" he questioned, placing his own hand on her shoulder like she had to show his concern and care for her. "If I have to share my problems, you gotta do the same to me, okay?" he told her in a voice he hoped sounded both joking and serious.

"Yes… yes, I suppose you are right" she said, her head raising as she looked at him, her eyes looking as if they were looking past him instead of at him. Though they definitely focused when he gave her shoulder a squeeze, though the fact her face turned quite red was a bit confusing for him. "Jaune… I… Look. I know this probably isn't the best of times to do this, probably the worst time if I'm being honest, but I can't stand seeing you in so much pain… So I feel like I should give you some form of happi-" Pyrrha was interrupted when the door to their room was suddenly hit by a thunderous trio of knocks.

Jaune had never seen Pyrrha angry, but the way she looked at the door was the closest to a glare that he had seen on her.

"Ermmm… Pyrrha, are you okay?" he questioned, knowing that she clearly wasn't but he hoped that him at least asking her would calm her down a little.

Seemingly, it did the trick as she let out a sigh, throwing him a meek smile and went to the door which let out another set of loud, booming knocks.

The door opened to reveal someone, or some _one's_ he had definitely not been expecting to see today though it certainly wasn't unwelcome.

"Sup, kid!" Coco yelled her greeting as she strutted past Pyrrha, throwing her a cheery smile that didn't exactly seem to make Pyrrha any happier. Behind her a meek looking Velvet appeared and gave her own, much tamer greeting.

"Hello Jaune…" she smiled, her face looking a bit surprised when she saw Pyrrha, but her smile didn't dim. "Oh, hello… you must be Pyrrha. You're Jaune's partner, right?" she questioned, her nervous demeanour seemingly causing Pyrrha to lose to small frown she had and replaced it with a sunny smile that he knew so well.

"I am indeed his partner, it's nice to meet you…" she paused clearly after a name. Jaune had forgotten that he hadn't exactly spoken about Velvet or Coco in depth to her and now he was slightly regretting it, the last thing he needed was for his frankly great morning to be ruined by the awkwardness of what was effectively, in his partners eyes, two strangers randomly walking into his room.

"Sorry, Pyrrha" Jaune smiled, getting up quickly and moving to stand in front of her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "This is Velvet, y'know, the girl I helped out the other day when she was getting bullied by Cardin?" he questioned, hoping it would jog her memory and, if the way her eyes were widening in recognition said anything, she did. But still he continued, if only to help smooth out what was to be the first official meeting between his partner and newest pair of friends.

"She… she also helped me when I first dealt with what's going on and a couple times after that… she really helped to cheer me up she also gave me some good advice when I needed it with the help of the other person who so _kindly_ decided to welcome herself into our room…" he paused, sending a half-hearted glare towards the unapologetic looking Coco Adel herself.

Taking a cue he wasn't aware he had given her, Coco moved past him and thrust a hand forward towards Pyrrha who still had a perplexed look upon her face.

"Coco Adel, fashionista, resident beauty of Beacon, lover of caramel and girlfriend to this sexy little bunny here" she grinned, throwing a wink as Jaune watched Pyrrha's normally quite stoic face run through a mix of emotions from confusion to embarrassment to happiness to… relief?

What must have been Pyrrha's training when responding to an introduction, seemed to kick in when her smile fell back into place and she took the hand held out to her in a firm shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Coco, you too Velvet. I must thank you for helping my partner and friend when I could not"

"No worries, Red" the toothy smile seeming to only grow, and Velvet's embarrassed flush the same, when Pyrrha turned a little red from the nickname. "Velv likes him and thinks he's funny and that sad smile of his melted my chocolate heart, so I decided 'hey might as help the nice guy that makes my girlfriend smile' that and the fact he was brave enough to admit he needed help, well… I like to think me and him are good buddies now. Plus, he owes me a trip into Vale as my personal pack-mule for my oh so helpful services" she grinned, her smile which had turned warm and kind as she spoke of him, turned evil as she stared at Jaune who audibly gulped.

* * *

Letting out a small giggle at his face, Pyrrha shook her head before returning her gaze to the two new occupants to the room.

While she was fairly upset that what could have been a rather intimate moment between her and Jaune and could have made his rather bleak situation better with her love and care being interrupted by these two people… she couldn't be upset with them, they had helped him when she couldn't. Helped him smile when she couldn't, dragged him out of the dark as he was about to fall in… Plus, she would always have another chance. She would try and be braver now, she would be brave and take the next best opportunity she could… Maybe at Forever Fall? She had heard they would going some time next week and that it was a rather romantic spot with the famous trees that seemed to be frozen in time during it's name sake… yes that would do…

"Yes there is Coco, Jaune… is a great… partner to me and the fact that you and Velvet made him smile when he needed it… so, thank you" she smiled warmly, managing to shock the seemingly calm girl by enveloping her into what she hoped wasn't _too_ awkward of a hug.

Coco recovered rather quickly from her shock at her hug and brought her arms around her back, patting it gently before bringing her lips closer to her ear.

If she were to be honest, Pyrrha grew slightly worried at what was a rather intimate move from a girl she now new was attracted to her gender. The added fact that her apparent girlfriend was right there, having what seemed to be friendly and cheerful chat with Jaune from the way he was smiling and she was giggling happily at something he had said. What would she do if Coco suddenly decided to flirt with her? She would reject her of course but then Velvet would become aware of what her other half had done and would no doubt be upset with her and would probably break up with her on the spot and then that would cause even more problems for Jaune if he had to deal with the fallout considering they both saw him as a friend. Then what could she do? What could she say or-

Her worries were suddenly alleviated when Coco whispered into her ear.

"Don't worry, sweetie, you'll get your chance again sooner than you think" she could feel the smile on the girls' lips. "But… lemme make myself clear. He's kinda becoming like a scraggly little brother in my eyes, even more so to Velv, so I'm feeling a little protective. That poor bastard has been through a lot in the short time I've known him. Ya see, Velvet extra good hearing let her listen in on that little argument that the kid and Snow Bitch had. You probably don't know the full details, but _I_ do. Let's just say that being upset, isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe how messed up his head is gonna be at the moment, so…" her grip around her back suddenly turned to steel and it actually heard her a little. All the pleasantness in the atmosphere drained and the air grew cold as ice. "If you cause him any more pain or toy with his heart like _she_ did, it wont matter that you're a 4 time champion. I _will_ get you, and you will regret ever speaking to him" as soon as she finished her words, the painful grip and tense atmosphere disappeared and her warm smile was back in place.

It was all Pyrrha could do to nod dumbly and try not to show her intense fear at the obvious threat.

A touch to her arm nearly made her jump and in her panic, she turned quickly to find a worried looking Velvet. Her large ears drooping slightly as she looked at her in confusion.

A quick glance to her side, showed that Coco and Velvet had swapped places, with Coco seeming to be teasing her poor partner, if his red face was anything to go by. Velvet had, in turn, taken a position at her side.

"T-try not to worry about her… I-ummm… I am worried about Jaune, b-but you seem nice so I don't… Don't think that I have anything to worry about when it comes to you" she nervously whispered, playing with her hair and not meeting her gaze.

It was at this point, Pyrrha realised something. Both girls seemed have been able to instantly guess her affections for Jaune… surely she wasn't _that_ obvious… right? The girls had only known her for a couple minutes… but of course they had to be the ones that Jaune had run away with after his rather viscous defence of Velvet… Maybe Jaune had spoken of her when he was with them? Or had her words when she had spoken to him over her scroll given her feelings away… in either case it was both embarrassing and slightly annoying that even near complete strangers could tell and yet the object of her affections did not.

"Thank you Velvet… I do care about Jaune, more than anything if I am being honest. The very idea of hurting him in any way disgusts me" Her sincere voice and polite nature drained her fear out as she threw a small smile at the nervous girl.

At her words Velvet seemed to grow in confidence and raised her head to return her smile.

"Then… I guess I have nothing to worry about then" she cheerfully replied, turning back to her girlfriend who seemed to be determined to make her partner turn as red as possible. "Coco!... I-I believe that we had something to say to Jaune?" she questioned, causing the girl to pause mid tease and turn to her with a smug smile.

"Yep, you are most certainly right my delicious, Bun" she said, ignoring just how red her girlfriend went. "You!" she suddenly turned to point a finger at Jaune. "Are in desperate need of a makeover, clothing _and_ combat wise. Me and Velv got the word on your… err…'combat' skills and frankly, yeah you can tank hits with the best of them and got some _massive_ aura reserves, but you can barely hit anything and when you do, you're expending unneeded energy and stamina and getting little payoff. Plus, we know your biggest trouble right now is dick-chester, and that oversized compensator of a mace he uses. So, me being oh so smart, decided that I'm gonna help you. See I got a friend who makes him look like a nat and is more than happy to help a first year get strong. Whadda, y'say?" she enquired, the offer catching Pyrrha by surprise. It also worried her to no small degree, while both the girls seemed to approve of the idea of her being with Jaune… the idea of her own training with him stopping and therefor cutting into the time she could spend with him… well that was not something she liked the idea of.

As it turned out, Neither did Jaune as he shot her a worried look that she most definitely noticed and found a pleasant warmth growing in her chest.

"Errr… sorry Coco but… I already train with Pyrrha and she's really helping me along, she's the reason I can even hold my sword right" he apologised awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I would feel bad if I just abandoned her to train with you"

Coco shot her an approving look, before walking up and resting an elbow on her shoulder, facing him like she and Coco had been friends for years.

"Easy fix there kid, Red here can come along and help me teach ya some things. May even learn a few herself, how's that sound, Red?" she questioned Pyrrha, a smirk etched on her face as she said it.

Pyrrha realised that Coco must have known that her and Jaune not being able to spend time together might not be the best idea if she intended to ask him to become her… _boyfriend_ … so she had come up with a compromise. Frankly it made Pyrrha feel that getting to know this girl as more than an acquaintance may not be too bad and idea, Velvet too, if the girls sweet and kind demeanour said anything.

"That… that sounds grand" she smiled, if Jaune could get more help with his training, while still allowing her to spend time with him, then she was up for it. Delighted by the idea of it even. "When would we be having these sessions?"

"Tonight." She said simply, her expression serious showing that she wasn't joking in any way. "No point in wasting time and you guys have got a big thing coming up, remember" she said, giving Pyrrha a questioning look to which she quickly nodded and smiled to confirm her knowledge. Upon turning to Jaune however, her goofy knight seemed at an utter loss and was looking at each of her, Velvet and Coco for answers.

The soft slap of a palm to a head made it clear Coco was not aware of some of Jaune's more… problematic quirks… she had oh so hoped her leader had paid attention to what the older years had been saying or the hints that the professors had been dropping to them… Jaune must have been doing something more important! Definitely!... hopefully…

Velvet lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, her kind smile looking almost pained as she looked back at Coco with a pleading look in her eyes.

With a wave of a hand and the hanging of her head she allowed Velvet to do whatever she was asking for.

"Jaune… you and the rest of students will be going to a forest called Forever Fall, it's a beautiful place yet is full of Grimm, Ursa; Minor and Major are the most common form of Grimm that occur there and, if it's the same as last year, you will be searching for and collecting sap from the trees there. Unfortunately the Ursa are… well they are attracted to the sap, so-"

Seemingly unable to hold herself back, Coco decided to intervein.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" she interrupted, patting Velvet's head affectionately despite the girls pout at being interrupted. "Big, mean ugly and about 1,000 lbs of muscle and bone armour that will make you go splat at your current skill level. Listen, I can't make you a Grimm slaying badass in a week. What I _can_ do is make sure your scrawny ass doesn't get killed and you can deal the damage instead of flailing around your sword like a stick. Not gonna lie, I see one of the reasons Red is helping you, you could definitely get good in time but right now, I doubt you could even scare an omega Beowulf. _But._ This is gonna be gruelling and hard and damn near torturous for you. The honest question here isn't whether or not your hot partner, not as hot as you babe don't worry, is okay with you accepting help from me. The question is; are you prepared to suffer. And suffer _hard_ , but end up becoming stronger and better than ten of you combined right now? You ready for that, Kid?" she questioned, her eyes boring into his before they shot to his feet, his eyes conflicted.

* * *

Jaune stared at his feet as if they held the answer to life itself… frankly he felt it was a better option than trying to look Coco in the eye right now.

She'd literally just told him, that if she trained him, that it would be _torturous_ that was not exactly something he imagined enjoying, or even tolerating… hating with every fibre of his being, that was a definite yes. He had no doubt that he would probably come out of it a lot stronger. But… could he actually do it? the training with Pyrrha was gruelling enough as it was. The last thing he needed was someone like Coco, who could wield a minigun as if it were nothing, training him till he was bloody…

Maybe it would be better if he just-

 _A cold sneer and a mocking face that showed nothing but utter contempt._

 _Laughing in his face as she told people how she knew he would fail._

 _Telling him he should have just done what she told him to do… that it would have been less shameful to just do_ that _instead of trying to keep going._

The thoughts raced through his mind, the image of beautiful girl with the face of an angel, but the heart of a demon…

* * *

Jaune's face did not stay down for long however.

With a fire in his eyes that she had not seen once since the two met, he nodded.

"Where are we meeting and when?" he questioned, his voice even and calm as he held a firm, and frankly quite attractive, stance towards the pleased looking Coco.

"I'll text you later champ, just remember to bring a couple ice packs with you, you're gonna need it" she grinned, walking towards the door and shooing Velvet out, who smiled sweetly at the pair of them as she went out the door.

"Okay, but… wait you said something about fixing my fashion?" Jaune questioned, all at once losing the mildly imposing figure he had appeared to be mere moments prior, his calm voice taking on a hint of both uncertainty and hurt as he clutched at his hoodie.

"Oh, we'll fix that this weekend champ, don't you worry" she smiled, turning her gaze onto Pyrrha herself. "I want to get your butt back into the game as soon as possible, can't have you wearing nothing but the best when you're trying to impress the ladies. A cute face and a sweet and honest farm boy personality will only get you so far if you look like you got your clothes out a cereal box" she laughed, though it died in her throat when she and Jaune both winced. "… You're kidding me?"

"Heheheh… Nnnnooooot teeechnically?" Jaune attempted to answer, trying to make light of the mortified look Coco was giving him, Pyrrha always liked that about Jaune… even if she herself would admit that she wasn't exactly a fan of his attire herself for personal reasons…

"Oh for… Gods I swear if I find that thing and you're _not_ wearing it, I'm gonna burn it!" she near yelled, as a bright red Velvet smiled apologetically at her and Jaune before gingerly closing the door.

Silence filled the room for an unknown amount of time, it was only as Jaune's alarm went off, telling him he had half an hour before class, that the two of them went back into motion.

Pyrrha offered the shower to Jaune, she knew that one of her faults was that she was often guilty of taking exceedingly long showers, whereas Jaune was usually fairly quick. She imagined it stemmed from having seven sisters. It didn't take too much imagination to believe they would have thrown their brother out of the shower naked if they thought he was taking too long.

She was more than happy to take a shower in the schools locker rooms after combat practice, she rarely broke a sweat after all. To her honest dismay. She had come to this school for a challenge, to get a fresh start and make friends as well of course. But she just wanted to meet someone who could give her a run for her money… well… at least she had people like Jaune, Ren and Ruby… she did hope that Yang and Nora would apologise to him soon… she dearly hoped so indeed… she _was_ angry at them for what they had done but she could at least understand their reasons behind it all.

It did not matter at the moment however, getting through today and keeping _Miss Schnee_ from causing Jaune any more problems so he could get to practice with Coco, with as clear a mind as he could get was her main priority.

Besides… with her not taking a shower, it left her with some time to formulate ideas on what to do to help when said training took place.

While Pyrrha greatly appreciated Coco's help, and frankly was grateful that there would be something to take Jaune's mind off of everything, she still felt the need to contribute.

Jaune was her partner. And she would help him no mater what.


	13. What are friends for?

**_EDITED_**

 **The song of her heart**

 **Chapter 12**

 **What are friends for?**

Nora looked forwards as she walked through the halls of beacon, a smile on her face that screamed happiness and a skip in her step that would make people think she had just been given the best news in the world.

She happily greeted anyone who looked at her with her usual cheer and glee, even if they seemed a little worried for her sanity, she knew she was sane! She was just happy! What was wrong with that!?

When she smelt that smell that had always brought such cheer to her, she gave her usual response of 'Pancakes! I smell pancakes!' which gave people more than a few smiles at her childishness, but again, she liked pancakes! What was wrong with _that!?_

As she slammed her hands down onto the counter with food tray and plate in hand, the lunch lady gave her a challenging look that said 'go on then. I dare you to shock me with what you want and how many'

"I'll have three pancakes and not too much syrup please" she smiled, watching as the woman's face turned ashen white and she took a double take. Her face screaming the question 'are you serious?' to which she happily nodded her head and patiently waited as the shaking hands of the woman placed her food upon her plate to which she cheerily thanked her and skipped of her way, sitting down at the table she usually did on her own with a thud.

Except… she wasn't on her own…not really. She just felt like she was.

He had walked with her through the halls in silence and his usual solemn expression on his face that usually made her giggle at the thought of what she could do to get that smile he only showed to her. Now it only made her feel empty...

He had been there when she had smelt the food that had always brought a happy smile to her face and she could have sworn he had nearly said her name in his usual 'I'm going to pretend I'm annoyed at what you're doing but am actually finding it kinda funny' before he had caught himself and the neutral look was back in his eyes.

He had been next to her when she had made her order and had been unable to hide his shock when she had asked for what was, for her at least, a tiny portion. She had seen it from the corner of her eye but didn't bother to turn to him and smile, she knew he would recover from his stupor before her eyes would be able to look at him in his entirety. He was clever like that. If he didn't want her to see his true emotions, then she never would.

He hadn't followed her when she had gone to the table, however, which did honestly confuse her a little but she didn't mind. She wasn't as good at hiding her emotions like he was, he would be able to see the displeasure on her face as she initially tasted the food on her plate.

It tasted like ash to her. Like she had gone over to the nearest fireplace, instead of the food line, and scooped up a plate of last nights' burn. The usually really, _really_ tasty syrup now bland and boring like water.

Though she quickly got her face and body under control to the horrid taste, it was still horrible though, yuck. She wondered why for the briefest of moments, before it clicked into place.

It was because he was angry at her... He didn't show it or say it because that wasn't his style, no, he simply went about his day as normal, except he refused to speak to her. He would answer her questions in a clipped way, because if he ignored her then it would cause tension he didn't want to cause… plus she knew deep down he hated upsetting her. He simply didn't start conversations with her. _That_ was his style. He didn't show spite or outward anger or anything hostile, what would be the point? He just simply… well… didn't acknowledge it. To do that would mean he would be drawn into a conversation he didn't want to have. Not yet at least. She... she really hoped that he _would_ want to at some point.

But why would that make the pancakes and syrup taste bad? Oh yeah… because he had been the one to make the first pancakes she had ever had… when they had run from his town, the burning embers and corpses littering the streets, in amongst the destroyed buildings and wrecked stalls she had been stealing bread from only that morning.

They had ran and ran until they couldn't run anymore, breath heaving in and out of their lungs that had screamed at them, demanding to know just what they thought they were doing. Their legs ached and struggled to hold them up, her hands were bloodied while his had been fine, later realising it was due to his aura that, while not the largest out there, had protected him from the damage their escape had caused her. As their brains had slowed down, the adrenaline and fear fading, they came to a realisation.

They were alive. Terrified, Ren joining her in being an orphan, homeless and probably going to be dead within a day but… then. In that moment. They were alive. Two effective strangers that had run away from their ruined home in the midst of a Grimm invasion on a scale that had rarely been seen. Those two strangers hugged in that moment, their tears pouring down their faces and mixing with the dirt and grime that covered their clothes which had ended up looking more like rags.

They had wandered through the woods for days. Ren using his semblance to hide them from any Grimm they came across and Nora using the skills she had, had to learn to gather food and water for them to live off. Nights were spent with the two of them huddled around a poorly constructed fire with not a blanket to stop the forest floor sapping away any heat they could generate. Their only way to get through them, was for them huddle together, with Ren's slightly larger body wrapping around hers as they slept beneath a canopy of a hastily constructed shelter of leaves laid across branches.

They kept going until they had come across the first sign of civilization they had seen for the longest time.

Though… calling it civilization would be a bit of a stretch… seeing as there had only been one building, a small cottage that looked incredibly out of place when compared to the forest which only ended a couple hundred feet in all directions around the place.

It had been quite pretty, with baked orange tiles all neatly arranged across the roof, shielding the owner from the rain and giving it a pleasant view from the get go. Creamy white walls that were interrupted by red wood frame, open windows with pleasant baby blue curtains being buffeted gently by the wind. A very well taken care of garden brimmed with beautiful flowers and a nearby bed was filled with growing fruits and vegetables that she _still_ didn't know the names of.

A chimney rose from the tiles, the gentle wisps of smoke had brought hope to their hearts that the owner was home. They hadn't thought to question as to whether or not the owner would be pleased or to see two grubby kids charging his house and looking like they hadn't spent a day indoors their entire lives. They had met someone who must have had food and drink and shelter they could beg to stay in. That was all that mattered.

A white picket fence surrounded the entire property and Ren had, had to rush ahead of her to open the fence as she was fairly sure she would have barrelled through it if he hadn't. Slamming into the door, Ren had meant to try and knock politely, but she in her terrified and starved state, had slammed her hand into the wood. The thumps her little hands made on the wood sounded like thunderous strikes as the noise pushed into the house.

They had gotten quite worried when no noise had sounded from within, beside the echo of her 'knocking', and they almost began to think they may have left the house, leaving a dying fire to go out.

Then Nora had felt a heavy hand land on her shoulder, with nervous instincts and terror at how familiar the grip had seemed to her, she'd turned around sharply and swung the small wooden mallet she still held onto into whatever was attacking her and coincidentally... she ended up aiming straight for whatever was at shoulder height for her.

Surprisingly, it had been something quite soft and squishy that caused the owner to let out a small squeak of pain as they crumpled to their feet beneath her. She still remembered how her frightened little self had hidden behind what was her first friend, expecting his 'super power' would hide them from the bad people. In truth he had looked just as scared as she was, though he had still held his blade before them. He had been ready to cut down the… laughing woman and groaning man?

Coral and Reef Atlanta had been surprisingly nice, despite Nora crushing his crotch, and had let them stay in their home without them even asking.

"Come on in then, kiddos! You look like you could do with a meal!" she had laughed, picking her husband up by the scruff of his neck and placing him on her shoulder as she led the way. Not really understanding what was going on, they had followed, their tired and pained bodies near giving out when the heat of the home hit them. Through sheer force of will, however, they kept going forward. Ren had been nervous of the strangers that had simply let them into their home. Nora had, had no problems though, she had learned to be able to tell a good person from a bad one a long time ago. She'd had to.

Coral was a giant of a woman. Easily surpassing 6.5ft in height and broader than the door she'd lead them through. Toned muscles, which she knew from personal experience could be employed to crush rock, and a chest she felt confident no woman would ever be able to match, made her quite the intimidating sight. That was until anyone looked at her face.

Milky white skin shaded a kind and rounded face marked by a small amount of scars across her rosy cheeks, a pearly smile that'd looked like it was going to split her face in two, lay just below them. Emerald green eyes that held nothing but love and happiness inside them, had followed her and Ren as they had crossed the threshold of the home and walked into what had been the living room. Long, beautiful blonde hair trailed down to her waste and was styled into a braid filled with flowers of all colours and sizes.

Around her powerful neck hung a thin leather cord with colourful glass beads hanging off of it, a small metal hammer with intricate designs hung around her neck. The piece was made of a metal she still didn't know the name of but apparently meant a lot to her. The light blue hue brought a certain elegance to it... she was pretty certain that was the word Reef had used...

She wore a red, tunic style, shirt that went past her broad hips and tore off at the shoulders with golden pattering across the neckline and base. A large and wide belt wrapped around her strong stomach with markings across its surface depicting dragons and a large tree in the dead centre where a golden buckle framed it. Bands of gold, silver and brass decorated her large biceps, wrists and fingers. Each not being a full circle but instead the metal being bent into a crescent shape and fitted to wrap snugly around any parts of her body she wished them to.

Trousers of a deep blue hung loosely around her legs and seemed to be made of mix of leather and wool and stopped just after a large pair of steel toe-capped leather boots started. The light brown leather contrasting with the black toes and soles.

When her husband had recovered from his lesson of how much a mallet to the crotch could hurt, he had asked if they liked fish to which Ren had shyly asked if he knew how to make sushi. With a quiet laugh, the man had nodded before turning to her with a smile and a look that didn't lose any of the warmth it held behind his red locks. He'd seemed confused when she'd told him she didn't know what fish tasted like so she didn't mind. Ren had looked at her worriedly, him being possibly the only person left to know she was homeless and had been for a long time, and gripped her hand. In her nervousness, she'd lied. Told them that she'd simply never tried it before was all. She had been scared that they might think she and Ren were beggars who took advantage of peoples' kindness then stole anything of value before slipping away in the dead of night.

The only reason her mind had drifted to such a thought had been due to the fact that she had been accused of that before. A seemingly kind old lady had let her stay in her shed the once, Nora being hungry in the middle of the night had attempted to go inside and ask for something to eat. Upon entering the house and trying to find the woman, while holding a small piece of wrapped bread in her hands to ask if she could have it, the woman had suddenly appeared and began screaming "thief!" before brandishing a fire poker and chasing her from her house, she had just about held onto the food in her hands as she ran. She didn't stop for what felt like ages, not even slowing when she felt the tip of the poker stab into her shoulder as she bolted out of the yard.

The man only looked at her kindly and said that if she didn't like it he would happily make her something else.

Reef was a head shorter than his wife and was near tiny in muscle mass compared to her, though that didn't mean the man was weak in any way. Toned would be the word she had used to describe him, kind of like Ren himself.

Fiery red hair was tied into a pony tail behind his head, but with a few locks hanging down onto his handsome face which was tanned with wrinkles about his eyes that were clearly more from said tan than age. His eyes were a misty blue that seemed to be constantly on alert yet always held a softness to them that Nora had never once seen drop.

His slender neck flowed down to a necklace with a similar set of beads across it like Coral's yet his had a metal entwined emerald in the centre which he had later revealed to them he used because it matched her eyes.

His clothes, which she had never been able to properly remember the name's for, were loose against his body expect for where it ended, where it was clearly elasticated and held tight against him.

A cloudy blue shirt with darker blue accents and an open front that had been wrapped around his front and kept there by a purple sash. The shirt's nature allowed for a fine chain shirt to be seen beneath it, a silver shine to it. The sash on his stomach was silken in nature and had a smokey black woven in, in patterns of a more Mistral nature across its' entire surface. Swirling and flowing patterns repeated every few inches in a beautiful way that both she and Ren had always admired.

His hands were covered by thin leather gloves with steel embedded into the knuckles, clearly designed to cause pain. Even as a child she had known that. The right arm, however, was equipped with a metal guard with leather that attached the glove itself. It hadn't seem like it was armour intended to take on heavy hits. No, it seemed more like it was designed to catch then divert strikes away from him.

His pants were made of the same material as he shirt, though they were a stormy grey with the same black accents on it as the sash. They became tight just past the knees as binding wrapped around them in a criss-cross pattern. That followed the trousers down before they stopped just at his ankles which were bound in a much lighter and less defensive version of Coral's own boots and were black and dusty grey in colour.

The food had been delicious, though she could still remember how her little heart had pitter pattered in worry when she had gathered up the nerve to ask for more.

That fear had quickly been destroyed as Coral complimented her healthy appetite and Reef had already gone to prepare more sushi.

The meal had ended with Nora having eaten nearly as much as the giant woman next to her, Ren eating a substantially smaller meal that he always called a 'normal' portion size. With a smile, Coral had cleared the plates while Reef had led them to a small sitting area and giving them two thick cushions to sit on seeing as the only furniture was a giant of a chair covered in furs and cushions, while a second chair sat near it. Leather in material and cushiony to even look at with a lever by the side to swing out a leg rest from below.

Within moments of them sitting down, Coral bounced into the room with a cheery smile on her face and a plate of cookies in hand.

"For dessert, you two look like you haven't had a treat in years!" had been her hearty reply to their confused faces. It'd quickly took a more sombre look as she passed a look to her husband which was instantly spotted by Nora as she munched on the treat she had only ever dreamed of… "So…" she'd begun in her thick, Atlesian accent. "Where… where did you two come from? You too have clearly been on the road for a while… did… did something happen to your town?"

There had been silence for a long while as she had looked at Ren and he had looked at her… while they could have still been considered strangers at the time… they carried a connection even then. A knowledge that they could trust each other. It had been Ren that had finally spoken, with a shaky voice that had immediately brought her hand to his own.

"I… we came from a town called Kuroyuri-to the south…" the sucking in of breath from the both the adults had stopped him. Coral and Reef had suddenly looked really worried when they heard his words, the answer had shocked them... though they really shouldn't have been too surprised. They should have taken notice that these two adults lived in the woods. On their own. With no wall to speak of.

"Oh gods… we… oh, you poor children…" Reef had sighed, placing a hand on the shoulder of his wife who looked at them with teary eyes.

"We… we just came from Kuroyuri… we were sent to try and find any survivors but there was _something…_ something monstrous there" she'd sighed, noticing how both her and Ren's faces had suddenly paled. "Please tell me you weren't there when it happened… I beg you- tell me you were away from there. That you were on a walk or _something!"_ the pitch in her voice had honestly frightened them both, Nora's fear growing until she felt a calming presence take over her entire being.

As the colour drained from her body, she turned to find Ren looking at her with a gentle smile, taking away all her fear and pain... making her feel like there was nothing wrong with the world and, even then, becoming a kind of rock to her. Keeping her grounded when the world seemed to just get too much. _That_ had brought some questions from them, but Ren had answered Coral before she could speak.

"Yes… we were there when the Grimm attacked. Nora…" with a questioning glance to her, she had nodded at him, giving him permission to tell them. "Nora was a homeless girl I had met the day they attacked, while I lived with my… with my parents… They destroyed the town… they-they killed so many people" Ren's, at the time, small aura reserves gave out as he spoke and his emotions were set free. "My-my parents were there… they both di-died… they both died!" he shouted, tears streaming down his face that quickly soaked into red fabric as the giant woman took him in a tender embrace. When Nora had begun to cry as well, the woman had smiled warmly at her and brought her into the hug. Cooing at them gently while Reef had come around the side and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, his grip tender and gentle.

Their crying had lasted for a long time… longer than they thought possible. They cried and cried until they couldn't cry anymore… the sadness was still there and it had hurt for many years to come, but… that night they had simply been too tired to cry anymore.

It was evening before long, and both of them had felt the tiredness they had been fighting off begin to take hold.

With a chuckle, it had been Reef to take them in his arms while Coral had led the way to a fairly large room just down the hall.

Inside was a pair of beds, one electric pink and the other a forest green, with chests beneath them and posters of huntsman academies and weapons strewn across the walls. Against the far wall was a pair of desks covered in old books and pencils that had clearly seen a lot of use.

"This's used to be our kiddies' room, but those little scamps have gone to Haven academy to learn how to be the best Hunter and Huntress that they can be. You two can stay here-if you want! I… know it's not much and I am aware it won't bring your village or your parents back but me and the hubby feel like it's the least we could do. If we had done our job better and gotten the damn Grimm problem under control, we-!" with a sigh she had gotten her anger under control and turned back to them with a smile. "But enough of that. Nora and… oh gods I haven't even asked your name young man!"

"It's 'yawn'… it's Ren, Miss" he had tiredly told her.

"Ren. Please just call me Coral. My husbands' name is Reef by the way, he's usually quite chatty but… well he gets embarrassed easily and I think you did a number to his ego with that thump to his family jewels…" she laughed in a slightly pained manor, though her attempts to lift her and Ren's spirits had been greatly appreciated. Even if all the two of them had given in response was a tired smile and a little chuckle.

"Dear… I'd rather you not remind me of that…" came his pained reply as he'd set both her and Ren down onto what would become their beds.

"In any case… until you two feel ready to find yourselves somewhere proper to live, I suppose we can make room for you two. You seem nice enough and what kind of huntress would I be if I just turned two little ones like you back into those horrible woods?"

At those words and the warm, soft bed she'd found herself on, Nora had quickly passed out asleep.

The next morning, she had awoken with a fright. Nightmares plagued by Grimm as they chased her through the woods. Their unearthly roars and hellish eyes had followed her no matter where she went. Her fears had gotten even worse when her new friend was missing, at the time she had been scared that Ren had abandoned her and run off into the wood. Or that the supposedly nice people had taken him in the night and were coming for her next.

Once again, her fears had been laid to rest when Reef had appeared in the doorway, wearing a pink apron and oven mitts in his hands.

He'd seen her fear in an instant, rushing over to her side, the oven mitts slipping out of his hands in a move that wouldn't have looked out of place in an action movie.

"Are you okay? Are you in pain?" his voice had been filled with so much worry that she couldn't help but let out a teary smile at his concern for her.

"Ye-yeah… I'm sorry I just-" her nervous voice was cut off as his soothing one took over.

"You had a bad nightmare? Then woke up and got scared?" she'd nodded politely and with more than a little curiosity. "I'd guessed. I've unfortunately seen it too many times in children who've gone through what you've gone through. But luckily for you, it would seem you have a friend who cares enough to put on a brave face for you. He offered to make you something and I think it's best I get back before he burns my house down… I don't think he's cooked a day in his life. Would you care to join me?"

With another nod of her head, she had tentatively followed him out of the room through the still unfamiliar house and into a large and open kitchen that looked like the scene out of a horror movie set in a bakery.

Batter splattered across the walls and various ingredients were scattered across the counters as a boy in fresh green robes, much more similar to his combat uniform of today, flipped something she had would later find out would become her favourite food in the world.

With a smile, the lithe man behind her had slipped past and took charge of the pan as Ren placed another of the, at the time, unfamiliar food on top of a small stack in the centre of the kitchen counter. A proud Coral wrapped her arms around her husband and gave him a small kiss as Nora had looked to Ren with a questioning gaze.

He had simply smiled at her, pointing towards the stack of amazing smelling food.

"I… since you seemed to like those cookies so much… I thought I could make you some pancakes… they're probably not very good but…"

He'd trailed off as she smiled at him, approaching the food while the rest of them sat down around the table and waited for her. Taking her seat she smiled at the group of people who all looked at her warmly.

Nora… despite the horror she and Ren had escaped and the trauma still tormenting her sleep… couldn't help but feel a warmth blossom in her chest as she looked around at what could have been mistaken for a family breakfast… something she had never had.

Cutting off a piece of the food before her, covered in a sweet-smelling liquid, she took a bite and her world exploded.

She wasn't ashamed to admit that she had cried happy tears as she bit into the food, the pancake forever taking a place in her heart that brought back memories of what had been the happiest memory of her life… pancakes meant happiness to her… pancakes represented pure joy and a time that was a turning point for her…

Coral and Reef had been as close to parents as they could be during the years that they spent with them, but they had never tried to _become_ their parents though. They had seemed to already know that they could never replace the family Ren had lost and the one she'd never had, but it had been a comfort to know they were happy to simply be there friends. It had been fun with them and, when they'd turned twelve, they had made the offer to train them to become huntsman like them.

They had been… hesitant at first.

Ren had been confused as to why they had offered them such a thing, while she had sat there and wondered what their angle was. It was funny how hesitant and untrusting she had been when she was a kid…

Coral had smiled and explained that they wouldn't be under their roof forever and that she wanted them to be ready to take on whatever came their way. She had also said in a quieter tone that it may be good closure for them. To gain the strength to take out what had took away everything from them.

They had learned over the years that Coral was a woman who let her emotions fly hot and bright. She didn't get annoyed, she got furious. She didn't get happy, she got ecstatic. She didn't get upset… she got sorrowful.

It had taken Reef patting her on the back to get her to release them from the bear hug she had enveloped them both in as she had cried and they had let out a few tears as well, but their minds were made up. To get strong enough so as to never feel as helpless as they did that day and to be able to help any village that had to deal with that they had.

Coral had decided to train her and wielded a hammer that was, in part, the inspiration for her own.

Mjolnir was a multi-form, mecha-shift weapon with a gold and silver design to it.

It could be wielded as either a single-handed mallet for close quarters, or a two-handed war hammer with a simple click of a button and an extending handle. The head could give a devastating electrical jolt upon contact with anything with a pulse which she had personally seen make an Ursa Major look like it was doing a jig after a single swing to the face.

The really dangerous part came when, with a simple button press, the head would split in two and the one would crank back till it was parallel with the shaft.

With a swing that could smash rock to dust, with her strength enhancing semblance adding to her already immense strength, the cranked head would slam back down onto the other one and activate the sonic dust inside and send out a shockwave powerful enough to level trees and rupture the internal organs of any and all Grimm caught in the blast. Even if you managed to get her weapon off of her, the base of the grip had a supply of gravity dust that could be used in tandem with a wrist band on her right hand to bring the weapon right back to her with enough force to punch through whatever got in its' way.

Ren was trained by Reef who used and equally complicated weapon, and it's name was Sakura with a soft pink colour and silver blades.

It began as two blades at his hips that were apparently Kama which looked like short versions of Ruby's scythe and were durable enough to be used as either climbing equipment or weaponry to hack and slash Grimm apart. His weapons were made all the deadlier by the fact that, with a press of a button, a unique form of lightning dust could be applied to the blade and would paralyse any target it managed to get a sufficient amount of hits on by shocking the nerves into paralysis.

The two weapons could also be locked together to form a Bo staff with one of the blades remaining at an angle while the other turned straight and looked more akin to a spear head. It would be used in arcing swings or powerful thrusts that would, instead of the modified lightning dust, use a combination of ice dust on the angled blade and fire dust on the straight blade. She remembered how she had thought it was such a pretty light show to see the staff spinning before her with the two opposing elements dancing through the night air. Its' final form was to give the close quarters weapon a ranged' edge. The handles of the two blades could segment and bend back, revealing a string connected by a grip for the fingers, to form a large Yumi bow with the accompanying arrows across his hip.

Their days training were gruelling and hard and their were times when, even with her aura unlocked by Ren with the guiding hand of Reef and Coral, she felt like her body was going to fail her from the near torturous routine they put her through.

But it had all been worth it when Ren, despite his body having definitely been in as rough a state as her own, had made them all pancakes and given her the largest portion.

That had made her happy because it'd reminded her of all the things she now had because of these people… a life free of all the pain she had suffered. And it had truly begun with her very first serving of pancakes.

That was why they tasted bad. Because why would they taste good when she felt so terrible and sad inside…? Deep down she knew she didn't deserve to be eating a food which basically represented how her life had truly begun… it was her first truly happy memory.

She had no right to be eating them.

And yet she did. If only to try and convince the boy she heard coming behind her that she was fine.

He didn't deserve to have to deal with her problems right now.

But… she wanted to talk to him… if only for a moment, like nothing was wrong and things were as they should be. Him and her enjoying each others company as they ate their food. Pyrrha smiling happily with her friends while she ate her breakfast and enjoying how they didn't put her on a pedestal… Jaune enjoying a plate of bacon and eggs while he tried to think up ways to get a chance with… Weiss…

The clatter of a plate to her side brought her out of her not so happy thoughts.

To her left was her usual order, ten pancakes and a veritable mountain of syrup for her to eat if she felt like it…

Looking up, her smile faltering for just a moment, she spotted Ren sat across her with his usual order of food and reading the morning news off his scroll.

"What?" She said before she could stop herself.

He didn't look at her, or even make any physical motion to show he had just done it, instead he simply said "You need to eat your normal portion or you'll burn out halfway through the day"

"O-oh… thanks Rennie…" she smiled weakly, her heart doing its usual pitter patter at his kindness that still came through even during this hard time for their entire team. He always managed to make her heart do those little flips… it was part of the reason she… she… Despite her dislike of her normally favourite food, she began to eat it with gusto with the hope it would bring a smile to his face.

It didn't.

On her last pancake, she stopped and looked at him with her eyes near brimming with tears behind her cheery face.

"Re-Rennie?" she asked, and to her surprise, he sighed and put down his scroll and looked at her with his beautiful, pink eyes.

"Yes, Nora?"

"C-can… can we talk?" she asked, her mind screaming as she stuttered over her words.

"It depends on what, Nora" he said, voice even and calm as ever. If he noticed her stutter, he didn't make mention of it.

"About… about what happened… about what me and Yang did…" she stopped, noticing his eye twinge just slightly. When you were friends with Ren you needed to be able to notice to small details. "I… I don't know what to do and I need your help"

At her question, Ren's gaze faltered and he looked away from her, his face a small mix of worry and pain that he quickly smothered and hid from even her.

"Nora. You... heh" he rubbed his fingers into his forehead, almost like he was giving himself a headache from trying to think of what to say... You, have made a very serious mistake and it cost not only Jaune and Weiss, but both of our teams in their entirety. This is not something that can just be 'fixed'... it needs time and may never recover. I'm not going to tell you to give up and not bother trying to, because that would make the situation even worse. But. I won't be helping you. If you want to fix this then you need to do it either by yourself or with Yang. Those are your only options" his words were even and clipped but she could hear the pain behind them… and it nearly tore her heart in two. "I… I don't like being upset with you. You have been more than just a simple friend to me and I can't imagine a life with you not in it, but… I can't act like I can just let this go. If you repair things with team RWBY and Jaune, then you and me will be okay again. Even if you try and they refuse to accept it, what matters is that you _do_ try. Even then, I will be there to try and help you smile again. A real smile at that… I hope you can understand"

Yes… she understood. She understood that her chest was painfully tight and she understood the pain was so great that she wanted to scream… she understood that his words, though meant to be as painless as they could possibly be, had left her feeling like she had a hole in her chest… but she understood his reasons. She always did with Ren. He always had a meaning behind his words. Something to listen to and to try and understand.

"Okay, Rennie… I understand" before her head could duck to eat at the pancakes which would most certainly taste worse now, she spotted his eyes flicker to just behind her and widen ever so slightly.

Turning her head, she spotted a sight that made her jump a little. Less than ten foot away was Jaune and Pyrrha. He clearly knew she was here from how rigid he looked and how he had more of his back to her than his front. Pyrrha was at least smiling at Ren and her, though it was incredibly strained as she clearly tried to get Jaune to at least come over to them…

The way he kept throwing glances at her with a frown on his face, and the way Pyrrha's eyes dimmed ever so slightly, spoke volumes to her about the odds of that happening. He didn't want to come here because of her. He didn't want to face her and all the pain she had helped to bring him… if that was so… then she would simply disappear.

"I'm gonna go do a little bit of training, Rennie, get my blood pumping so I can try and stay awake for Port's class" she grinned, begging him to not make mention of the tears she was nearly shedding that he had clearly noticed. "Gotta get my studies done and all that" she grinned, skipping her usual happy skip and waving to all the people who looked at her even more oddly than before. Why did they look worried and sad for her?

As she left the doors, in the opposite directions of her leader and teammates, Nora stopped in the empty hallway.

It was only then she took notice of the wetness on her cheeks and the stinging in her eyes…

 _Oh… that's why they were staring at me…_

* * *

It had been hard for Ruby to come into the cafeteria, with Weiss doing her best to try and not leave the room until absolutely necessary and her sister and teammate nowhere to be found, she had, had to walk down on her own and it had been very lonely.

That loneliness had been erased when she saw her best-guy-friend, sat with his team and talking with them in a way she could have mistaken for happily if the situation had different. She had been a little worried that they might be angry at her for what her sister and teammate had done, especially since Weiss, another reason Jaune was upset, was her partner.

Despite the fact that Pyrrha had a consoling arm across Ren's back as he stared down at his food like it disgusted him and had a pained expression on his face, Jaune had smiled the second he'd seen her and noticed her stood alone and feeling incredibly awkward. Even Ren, after noticing her and schooling his face back into its normal look, and Pyrrha had smiled at her. Making her feel welcome and happy… she missed the feeling of being part of a group already with her own team, so it had been nice to feel it again with them. Funny, she came to Beacon not caring in the slightest if she made any friends, but now? Now... Now she realised just how much of a positive impact they had on her life... and the bad effects that came from not being able to see them... Just eating a plate of cookies and milk while Jaune and Pyrrha chatted to her and Ren, them having apparently eaten earlier, made her happier than she'd been in days!

But still. She needed to talk to jaune and try and help him and Weiss, her feelings didn't matter as much as theirs and she knew she could help. It was as simple as that.

"Say… Jaune? Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked nervously, twiddling her fingers and diverting her gaze from his questioning one. "It's super-duper important and has to happen like right now, if that's okay, I mean"

With a sigh, he smiled at his team and nodded at her, letting her lead the way and patting Pyrrha on the shoulder when she tried to get up with a mega worried expression on her face.

"It's okay, Pyrrha... I trust Ruby, she was my first and best friend in Beacon after all... wow, that sounded kinda mean to you, sorry" he awkwardly tried to apologise, rubbing the back of his head and... and acting like her friend for the first time in a while... funny, silly, awkward and _normal_ Jaune... it made her so happy to see, and apparently Pyrrha thought so too, giggling into her hand and waving off his worry.

"It's alright Jaune, it's almost novel to lose at something for once, and I couldn't imagine losing to someone more deserving of the title" her smile was warm and happy... bringing a warmth to Ruby's chest as she did, she should have guessed that Pyrrha would never get angry at her... she was too nice!

They soon exited the lunch hall and stood just outside, with Jaune leaning against the wall and herself in front of him with her annoying, awkwardness shining right on through as the silence stretched onward.

"Sooo…" he began, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "You wanted to talk?"

"O-oh… yup, I did…" she mumbled, the silence soon beginning to take reign again until her frustration at her stupid awkwardness managed to force it back down. "Heh… you know why I'm here, right?" She asked, and his pained wince was answer enough, yet she still let him speak.

"Yeah… gonna take it, it has something to either do with entirely Yang or… Weiss or them both. Guessing I'm right?" he asked, though he clearly already had his answer as well as she looked away for the briefest of moments before forcing her head back around.

"Yeah… Listen Jaune, I'm so, so, so sorry for what happened with Yang… I dunno what she was thinking but it clearly wasn't anything smart!" she grimaced, smacking her hand across her face at the thought of how stupid her apparently, 'outgoing' and 'socially a genius' sister had been.

"Heheh… you haven't gotta explain yourself to me, Rubes. Remember. I have just as much reason to be saying sorry to you for Nora. I guess those two thought that they were being 'smart' at the time and didn't seem to think what they did was a bad idea in the slightest, but… hey, that's no reason for you to apologize… I just hope you and me can still be friends? You were my first friend at Beacon and I don't want to lose you" he smiled, his eyes begging her to tell him he didn't need to be worried and she couldn't have answered quicker if she tried.

"Of course! You were my first friend as well! Nothing is ever gonna break us apart!" she smiled, doing her best to transmit her smile to him. It apparently succeeded as he let out a small chuckle and his entire body relaxed ever so slightly.

"Okay… that… that puts me a little at ease…" he smiled, before his look turned serious. "So… back to the serious stuff… what did you want to say? I'm gonna be honest and say that if Yang wants to talk then I'm gonna have to say no. I'm not ready to speak to even Nora yet. So, Yang is not even a question… sorry Rubes." He said, Ruby noticing how he didn't even bother to ask if Weiss wanted to speak to him and frankly, she couldn't blame him. Even if he had, she knew for a fact that Weiss wouldn't want to be within viewing distance of him if she could help it. Despite what Ruby had seen and heard last night, she knew Weiss's insistence she hated Jaune with all her might would beat down any hope she subconsciously had that she was wrong in thinking Jaune had never cared for her.

"No. Me and Yang aren't exactly talking right now and I wouldn't be that mean to you. But… it does involve Weiss" she could see the groan forming in his throat before she heard it and watched as his entire body tensed back up before he looked at her with tired eyes.

"Ruby…" he spoke, drawn out and slow as if he was trying to think up the right words to say so as not offend her.

* * *

She walked down the hallway, her footsteps silent as the night as she weaved through the crowd with the grace of the dancer that she was. Some may have thought that she was weaving through them to avoid the physical contact with others, and in the case of most days they would have been correct, but today? No, today she wished to avoid them so that her entire attention was focused on the one person she wished to avoid the _most._ She wanted, no, _needed_ to avoid that leech of a human being who haunted her dreams last night and into the early hours of today.

 _Blood... so much blood... why did he look like that? Is... is this_ my _fault? My mind torturing me for what I said?_ She wanted to scoff at the very thought, that she was be punishing herself for what she'd said... but her words _still_ haunted her... they were wrong... they were disgusting, even to someone as evil as _him_ , and made her chest ache as a broken, pained tune stabbed through her.

Once more, however, she reminded herself that she was not going to apologise for them... deep regret she may have felt, but an apology was not in the cards. Where had that left her, the last she had tried? Oh yes... in deep and suffocating self-hatred for herself when she, for a single, foolish moment, thought that she was at fault for this whole scenario.

She hated him. She hated him with all her heart, with her soul! He was an evil, uncaring little boy who had hurt her more than any other-

 _You aren't hurt because of_ him... _You're hurt because of what he made you_ feel... _what he made you_ think...

The thought slammed her feet to a dead stop, mind doing the same as it tried to comprehend just _where_ such a ludicrous thing had come from to pop into her mind, her stop so sudden and sharp that she nearly bowled over the student behind her, cursing at her as they narrowly avoided the collision. Yet she found herself not caring at all as she instead built a fury and fire inside herself as her mind went over and over just what had happened inside her head. No. There was no chance that such a _ridiculous_ notion was true. Hurt by what he'd made her _feel..._ made her _think_? Hah! He only made her feel was anger and hatred, and the same for thinking, so what could he have possibly made her _feel_ that would hurt her so much!?

She was so distracted by her anger and disgust over what her sleep deprived brain cooked up, that she very nearly missed the uttering of a name that made her blood freeze.

"Ruby..."

* * *

"Heh… okay. What is it? I can't promise I'll take in what you say or that I'll react the way you want me to, but I'm willing to listen. If only because you're one of the few people I feel I can trust right now" his smile was pained and his eyes looked so much older and tired to what they usually looked like. It honestly worried her a little.

"Weiss… she had a nightmare last night, I'm not sure if you heard but she woke up screaming…" she said solemnly, her eyes drifting to the floor momentarily as she remembered the fear she had felt at her partner and friends screams.

"Yeah… I heard… I nearly got out of bed and came running to try and help but… well then I remembered who would be there and decided I was better off staying out of the way… sorry" he apologised, seemingly expecting her to be angry with him for staying away from a volatile situation he didn't need to be involved in.

"No… no you don't have to apologise. You did the right thing, it would have only been worse if you'd come in worried and scared…." She paused, turning her silver eyes back to him. "It was like she couldn't tell the difference between what was real and what wasn't. She just kept screaming and mumbling things that didn't make much sense to me. Stuff about where she was, that her chest hurt, what was going on… where you were…"

She stopped to see his eyes widen, his mouth draw into a thin line and his hands clench into fists, those same eyes scrunched shut for a minute and she could have sworn he mumbled something under his breath, but It was so quiet she couldn't catch it. "Why?" he asked, his voice straining to remain even, even now doing his best to try and stay calm in case he upset her… it was this kindness that helped her keep her nerve and press on to hear him voice his words. "Why would she be talking about me? She hates me and made it _very_ clear she doesn't care about me. So why would she have a nightmare and wake up asking where I was?"

"Because" she replied, her voice unusually calm as she tried to return the favour to Jaune by not making their talk tense, she didn't want to make the situation worse. "I… I think the nightmare involved you getting hurt. When I finally managed to wake her up and calm her down a little, the second her hands touched her sheet she thought she was touching blood and started freaking out again… I think whatever you two said to each other made her have that nightmare"

* * *

"Good" Those words, filled with such venom and fury, that Weiss felt as if a blade had been stabbed into her heart... before she shattered it to pieces with the freezing, murderous glare she shot in the direction of that voice. How... How could one person find _joy_ in knowing another was suffering!? She herself was racked with guilt for what she'd said and yet here he was, happily saying how truly _glad_ he was to hear that she had awoken from a terrible night-terror! How... How low a person could he possibly be to speak in such a way!? How could he possibly dare to have acted so _hurt_ and _pained,_ only to finally reveal his true colours as an evil, cruel, mons- "R-Ruby… oh gods why did I say that!? I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that, but thinking back to then just made me so angry, I… heh… no one deserves to have to deal with what sounds more like a night- _terror_ than a simple nightmare… even if me and Weiss aren't exactly the best of friends right now, she didn't deserve that… didn't deserve to have me saying I'm happy she's suffering… I'm so sorry… Please make sure she's okay, alright? The last thing she needs is to be kept awake at night... because of what happened between us..."

 _...what?_

* * *

There was the Jaune she knew, Ruby thought with a smile… A kind person who hated himself for even holding a grudge against someone. He clearly didn't like Weiss very much right now, but he still refused to be outright mean to her, it was just something he didn't like to do. She just wished she had seen him on better terms...

"It's okay… I don't really understand why you're so angry but it's okay. But… it would help if I did understand what she said that's made you so angry" she smiled, doing her best to try and convey her want to know. She also hoped her smile didn't look too forced, because she honestly felt a little happiness at the prospect she might find out more and that Jaune was being a lot more open than Weiss had been!

"You… you really don't want to know Ruby, I don't want to cause _more_ problems for you and your team so please… please don't ask, just know she said something I don't feel like forgiving any time soon"

Aaaand there went her happiness. Dang it.

"Heh… you two really don't like to make life easy for me do you?" she didn't bother to let him answer, instead going for another round of trying to get him to talk about Weiss. "Be honest with me, Jaune. Do you really hate Weiss so much? Do you… do you really think you two could be never be friends?"

Her words seemed to strike a cord in him, his eyes going wide for a moment as he looked at her in near disbelief. It was only then that she remembered a few choice words Weiss had said last night. Words that probably annoyed him more than convince him to give her partner a chance.

"Ruby. I _tried_ to be friends with her. I _tried_ to make up with and admitted my mistakes. I was _fine_ with just trying to get along with her… but she decided to go nuts at me and we ended up just screaming at each other… I tried once… I'm not going to again… there's not much point" he grimaced, her heart sinking just a little. "And… yeah…" he sighed, looking away from her before he continued. "I think I can honestly say I do hate he-"

"Don't you _dare_ try and lie to me Jaune." She near growled as she looked at his shocked face. She was tired of these two lying. She didn't like liars. She especially didn't like it when the people were lying to themselves!

* * *

Weiss was taken aback by the anger her partner spoke with, never having heard it before, but she then cursed her partner for interrupting Arc mid speech, never had she wanted to hear him speak so much before, or at _all._ But... there was a _need_ inside of her, something deep, writhing and painful that wanted to hear him say that he hated her... like, if she heard him say such a thing... Then she would be free of the awful weight on her heart. That she would know for certain that she was _right_ to hate him. That she was _right_ to despise his very being...

* * *

There was no way he hated her. Like truly hated her. It was a word that meant that person was the scum of the earth in their eyes. That they despised them more than anything!

Hate was a word thrown around far too often for her liking. A little boy telling his big brother he hated him for breaking his toys then going to him crying when he scraped his knee. A girlfriend saying that she hated her boyfriend because he messed up and upset her, then calling him later and asking if they were okay… A daughter telling her daddy she hated him for making mommy go away as soon as she was old enough to know he could have gone with her and left them with their uncle… then clutching at his shirt as she cried into it, begging for him to forgive her.

As Ruby stared into his eyes, she could see the lie behind them. He was lying to everyone and himself. He claimed he hated Weiss, yet he had made it clear when, after realising just how messed up his response to Weiss's nightmare had been, calmed himself down and immediately apologised. Not just to her but to _Weiss._ That he knew she didn't deserve it and that he wished she didn't have to go through it… his first response had been the anger talking, and there was a lot of it, then the real Jaune had shone through.

With Weiss she had to try and learn to read between her words and try and spot when she either avoided a question or outright lied.

With Jaune it was so much easier, she just had to wait for his nice nature to shine through and push past all that anger.

* * *

Jaune thought to himself briefly on her first question, taking time to pause and actually think about it. Ruby's words had shocked him a little. She never got angry, she was always such a little ball of sunshine no matter the situation. The fact she had gotten angry and called him a _liar_ said she wasn't going to believe him if he said he hated Weiss… which he did right?

Every single part of his brain screamed yes. Yes, he did hate her. He hated her for what she had done to him. He hated her for what she had said to him. He hated her for all the pain she had caused him… So why, after Ruby had stopped him dead in his tracks and accused him of lying to her, couldn't he bring himself to just tell her he wasn't? That he hadn't been trying to lie to her at all?

Did… did he really hate her? She had told him he didn't actually love her and just wanted to use her.

 _She apologised to you before you clearly hurt her and made her feel terrible. You basically told her to stay the hell away from you._ Came an irritated voice from deep inside his head.

She had told him she would never want to be friends with him, that he was basically evil and cruel.

 _And you didn't? You didn't call her the same and worse?_ The annoying voice once again spoke up.

She'd told him to kill himself…

The annoying voice didn't voice its' reply for a little while and Jaune began to hope his brain was done torturing him for a while… of course he should have learned that hoping for peace was a poor thing to do.

 _You called her a monster… You said she didn't deserve love and effectively said you hope she dies alone. No excuse, but she clearly wasn't in a good frame of mind. The fact she had a night terror over what she did, says a lot._

Despite what he assumed was his brain trying to do its' usual thing of contradicting anything he tried to think with a counter argument, Jaune tried to simply ignore the words.

If only the painful, thumping beat that battered against the walls of his chest would stop and just let him say he hated her…

Every time he attempted to speak and say he did, the thumping would only get louder and more painful.

It was no use, he couldn't do it… was it possible that Ozpin had been ri-no.

That thought was immediately crushed. He didn't even want to consider such a stupid thought. It was almost funny in its' silliness. That was it. That was all it was… silly.

Instead he chose to instead be 'honest' with what his heart was saying and ignore his brain. It wasn't like it would be of much use anyway.

"Do I honestly hate her…? Well… I _know_ I don't like her very much right now. I _know_ I don't want to be near her and I _know,_ _she_ hates me… well… I dunno. She hurt me Ruby. I know I hurt her too and I feel bad for it, but I can't bring myself to want to apologise knowing what's gonna happen if I go near her… If she asks, which I know she won't but I'll say it anyway, then… well let her know that I wish I had handled it better. I _am_ angry at her, Ruby. There's no denying that, but I guess if nothing else, I just don't want to end up blaming myself if she keeps having nightmares. I'm just the kinda doof to do that" he smiled a humourless smile and scratched the back of his head and Ruby seemed to go through a million thoughts at once.

* * *

Why... Why couldn't he just say it? Why did he have to lie? Because that was what it most definitely was, a lie... No way could he actually care enough to want to let her know that he was _sorry_ for what he'd said.

All the while, the girl in white felt the harsh, heavy and thunderous beats of the song as it rose and fell with the words spoken by the boy.

* * *

 _It's like the same story but told in two different ways… Those two are definitely angry at each other, there's no denying it, they say it enough themselves after all. Weiss says she hates him but, if she really did, then she wouldn't have had a nightmare and asked where he was… she seemed so scared and yelling about blood… did… did Jaune_ die _in her nightmare? Is that why she screamed about the blood? Oh, that makes so much sense…_ She thought, her mind a whirl as another strain of thought pushed its' way to the front of her mind. _If what Jaune said is true then, she shouldn't have blown up at him the way she did. I know what Weiss is like with people she thinks are being fake, she gets angry she also tends to be snarky and sarcastic, but she never goes nutso. There's gotta be something more behind it than just that, a reason for her to say what she did. They both admit they said some 'words' as Weiss put it but that must have been putting it pretty lightly considering their reactions to her even mentioning one to the other. That's a good thing... but then again Weiss seemed pretty darn sure she hadn't messed up more than said 'words'… she said she didn't believe him when he said he wanted to be friends, but what was with her weirdly quick reason? It sounded like me when I tried to convince dad that I couldn't eat sprouts because they were 'poisonous' to me…_

"Well… when you love someone… well it can be hard to be so angry at them. I remember how angry I was at Yang when she managed to take away one of my only friends because she thought he was trying to flirt with me… I know it isn't the same kind of love but-"

"I don't love her Ruby. I did but now I don't… she gave me a good enough reason to not. It's as simple as that" he growled, though not at her in an aggressive way. It was more like he was trying to convince himself what he was saying was true. And it frankly kind of annoyed her.

"Liar" she mumbled, taking in his shocked expression and holding her stare. "I read your letter and saw that video, Jaune… I saw all the love you poured into that letter and it made it clear just how much you did love her. I know it's something that just doesn't go away… I've seen it enough times myself…"

Though her dad would never admit it, and she didn't like to think it, her mom had been the rebound girl to Raven after she left. She knew her dad still had feelings for her from the brief memories she had of when her mom and him had gotten into arguments, or Yang would ask about her. There was anger behind his eyes but… also love. In a way, it kind of reminded her of the disaster that was the situation she was trying to mend right now.

* * *

All other thoughts were erased as she felt a white hot anger burn to life once more and, for once, agreeing with the monster, at least in a way. He didn't love her because he never _had!_ _Never!_ That word meant nothing to such a callous person who would use it to try and placate her, to **hurt** her. Her partner was a fool for allowing herself to be dragged into the little web of lies that he had created!

He never loved her. He just didn't... that was a _fact._

* * *

"You… what?" he asked and, for a few tense seconds, he said nothing. He simply stared at her with those same pained eyes of his. Before his mind seemed to catch up with him and he looked away with a cold expression. "That was before it all, Ruby. That was a stupid choice I made to try and impress a girl I wanted to be with… I guess I'm actually kinda glad… if she had read it and listened to it… of gods can you imagine how bad that would have been? It would have made this all seem tame in comparison... wait…" his gaze actually looked a little angry at her right now and it was more than a little worrying… Jaune never got angry with her… "You… You told her, didn't you? please tell me you didn't show it her? Please, Ruby!" his voice, though clearly filled with anger, also showed desperation and worry she couldn't help but notice.

"N-No. I didn't show it to her. I… I did kinda try to show it to her, but she didn't wanna see it- I was just trying to make you two friends again… I just wanted her to see why I'm your friend and that you two clearly should try to make up and get along! I didn't even think to ask you first about the video… I just… I dunno…"

She expected many things from Jaune in that moment. She expected him to possibly get angry and start shouting, which he nearly seemed to do if the way his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched tightly. She expected him to possibly get upset and storm away. She even thought he might tell her to stay away from him for meddling… what she didn't expect was for him to seemingly let out all the air in the body and, like it had been supporting him. drop to the floor, sliding down the wall as he went…

"Ruby… I get it that you're trying to help, but… please just stop… this situation is never going to get better and constantly trying to help is just going to make it worse. Take it from a brother to seven sisters, some arguments are just worth staying out of. Can you do that for me Ruby? Please?" he begged her, pleading with her to just let it go. She didn't want to though… she wanted to help and fix this darn horrible situation. She wanted everything to go back to how it had been! But… could she keep trying to press her friend when he was clearly begging her to not do that?

"Heh… I can't just stop trying Jaune… It's just who I am and I know you wouldn't want me any different, heheh!" she smiled nervously, not getting more of a reaction other than him tensing up even further and his head drooping down to rest his head on his chest. "But!... Okay… I'll stop for a little while okay? If you honestly think that leaving this alone is the best way to be, I'll stop. _But_ , if you're wrong. You can't stop me if I try and help again. Okay?" It was the best offer she was going to give or take and nothing would budge her.

It seemed Jaune knew it as well, as he raised a hand to rake through his mop of hair and let out a suffering groan before dragging his body up to once again tower over her.

Trying not to let her annoyance at her shortness show, Ruby smiled warmly at him, knowing she had won as he smiled a small, yet oh so real, smile.

"I can never win with you, can I?" he admitted. "Okay… Okay… I guess we can call it a deal… you have a deal Miss Rose" he smiled, which brought a real one to her own face as she looked at her friend.

In a moment of bravery that shocked even her, she suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his back in a hug that drew a small 'oof' from him as he stood there stunned for a moment before he returned her, hopefully, not too awkward hug.

Before too long she felt a buzz from her scroll and turned it on to find it was Weiss…

 _Ruby. Come along or we are going to be late._

Turning her head, she spotted a flash of white hair and a skirt that was peaking from behind a corner to their left, and she swore the air grew colder as she did.

Feeling Jaune's grip on her lessen, she turned to find an upsetting sight.

His eyes were trained on the girl around the corner and they lacked the happiness and warmth he had only gained seconds ago. They looked empty and sad yet held that same anger he was trying to convince her was hatred. The sadness she'd already noticed was further proof he didn't in her mind, you didn't look at someone you hated with sadness the way he did.

Even if Jaune was willing to lie to himself and say he hated her, she knew different. It just had to be.

"Sorry… I… I better go, Jaune. I'll see you later, okay?" she near whispered, getting a quiet hum as a reply as she left.

Ruby felt a small pang in her chest as she looked behind her to see Jaune slump into a defeated posture and walk back into the cafeteria with heavy sigh.

She would give Jaune one week. One week to prove her wrong about interfering and trying to help being a good idea.

Like that would ever happen.

* * *

The day had gone by slowly, Port had gone on and on for what seemed like hours and hours without stopping and it hadn't made it any easier since Nora hadn't shown up for class and he had been too nervous to try and look back behind him to try and talk to Ruby due to the fact he could feel two icy daggers digging into his back the entire time.

Lunch had been awkward, even if he knew it was partially because of him that it was. Nora was still missing and Ren had gone to try and find her, leaving him and Pyrrha alone.

Ruby and Blake had appeared and had seemed to want to sit with them when, naturally, bad luck had struck again. Yang had come in from one door and Weiss, the other. The two girls in red and black respectively had sent them apologetic looks before pealing off to be with their respective partners.

Oobleck hadn't been much better, his tired mind hadn't been able to follow a word he said. That wasn't exactly much different than normal, but he actually _was_ trying his best to focus on him. He wanted something to think on and focus his attention so he didn't have to constantly think on the thoughts Ruby had put in his head.

 _I hate her. I hate her! Why can I say it so easily in my head but can't get it past my lips!?_

In the end he'd simply allowed the speed of his words to simply occupy his mind and it stopped all other thoughts from entering his head, with only the added side effect of frying his brain in the process.

He was just glad that combat class wasn't going on today, something about Miss Goodwitch having to plan something with the elusive Professor Peach.

It had ended with Ruby being dragged away by Weiss who had moved at a fast-enough pace to rustle the papers on the desks she passed. He had immediately found something else to focus on when he realised he had been focusing on her to find the lilac eyes of Yang staring right at him. The shocking thing was that she actually looked a little nervous, like she was tempted to try and talk to him which he was immediately against. It still wasn't time to try and talk to her and Nora, it hadn't even been 24 hours yet!

Giving Pyrrha a pleading look, she nodded at him after a moments' hesitation, and they exited through the doors before Yang could try and move to him and were out the door where a familiar pair of faces met him and he honestly felt a true smile grow on his face.

* * *

Yang groaned as she smacked a fist into her desk, feeling the wood crack beneath it. Beside her, Blake sighed and moved to place a hand on her shoulder, Yang determined to ignore the odd feeling in her chest when it made contact. That was the _last_ thing she needed to be dealing with right now.

"… I told you that was a bad idea, Yang… saying you're there if he wants to try and talk to you was never going to end well. I of all people can understand that Jaune just wants to be left alone by you and Nora. I don't know him that well, but he doesn't seem the type to hold a grudge for long… at least I hope not" Blake tried to reassure her, which went _swimmingly_ , as she tried to think up some way to get the other blonde who she'd managed to piss off, to talk to her. That in itself was a surprise, since the guy had given off an aura of 'niceness' and seemed unable to actually get angry at someone. That had clearly been proven wrong.

"I know… I know… I just want this mess to be sorted! Ruby's never been so angry with me before! I thought that… maybe if I got Jaune to want to talk to me and got back on his good side that Ruby would talk to me again… I don't like feeling excluded from her life"

"Heh… look, the day's over now so why don't we hit the gym?" she asked, her smile a little restrained but it was most certainly that same smile that made her smile right back.

"Yeah… yeah I think I can do that…" she cheered half-heartedly, moving past her and making her way to the gym.

* * *

The second they got there, Yang seemed to tense up for some weird reason, her eyes flitting across the open changing room, her Faunus hearing picking up on the fact that her breathing had increased and sharp eyes seeing her skin beginning to turn just a shade darker. What was wrong with her? They'd gotten changed in front of each other often with no problem at all, _Yang_ of all people getting embarrassed about this was the oddest thing she'd seen all day seeing as the other week she'd strolled into their dorm room from the bathroom with nothing but a pair of panties on... Blake would admit that she could _appreciate_ the strong body that Yang had clearly spent years honing into the shape it was now.

Still, she was _beyond_ confused when she took her top off to change, only to find herself alone with the sight of Yang's feet disappearing down the locker rows.

"Yang?" she called, confusion written across her entire face as she made to follow after her oddly acting partner.

 _"Wait!"_ she squeaked, _squeaked,_ yet another odd thing for Yang. "I uh... Don't want you to get jealous of my girls is all!" she laughed... almost forcibly...

"Umm... Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Yep-yep! I am perfect as can be! Erm… gonna get changed real quick, so you go get changed as well! Over there... right... over there..."

Blake wanted to just go after her, to see what was wrong with her friend... But she of all people understood when something was wrong, when someone wanted to be left alone. So, with a sad sigh, she went off on her own way...

She did wish that Yang would trust her more, know that she could talk to her if she wanted to, like she had the other night before things had turned weird. But then again, who was she to talk about trust? When she couldn't even confide in her own partner about her true nature? About the fact she had been hiding the truth about her _race_ during the entire time they'd known each other?

* * *

After she'd managed to gain enough to courage to face her partner after the embarrassment from earlier, they'd emerged from the changing rooms in silence, Yang and Blake came across a strange and unfamiliar sight.

Nora Valkyrie was in the corner of the room and was going to town on a punching bag, though, that in of itself wasn't too different to the norm. What _was_ different, was the look on her face.

Their friendly, neighbourhood Bomber was usually in a near perpetual state of being insanely happy, like being happy was second nature to her and to be anything different was just weird.

The look on her face at the moment, though... it was one of rage and fury.

Lips pulled back into a snarl and eyes sending out a glare so hard she could have sent a Grimm running in fear, Nora was hitting the bag with enough force that Yang could swear she could feel small shockwaves rippling through the air with every hit.

She was drenched in sweat and her pale skin was blotchy and red, especially around her eyes, making it clear that she had been at this for some time. Hours at a guess, considering how much stamina the girl had.

With a single, bloodcurdling battle cry, Nora struck the bag hard enough to send it flying from its' chain and exploding into the wall behind it with enough force that it split from top to bottom.

She simply stood there after that, her body heaving and looking ready to collapse. Sending a nervous look towards Blake, who had been looking kinda sad for some reason, Yang slowly approached her partner in crime when it came to managing to piss people off.

"Hey… Nora? You, uh, feeling okay?"

At the uttering of her name, the girls head whipped around and the change was instant, gone was the snarl, a smile as cheery as a child in the summer time.

So too, did the furious look in the eyes. Now they were as bright and full of life as the always were... even if it was clearly all a lie.

"Heya, Yang, Blakey!" she smiled running over and standing in front of them with her fists on her hips, the blood on her already healing knuckles clear to them both. "Here to get some training? Great! Yang? Wanna help me lift some weights!? Wanna get some more reps in before I go get some time on the track!" her breath was ragged and her body was actually shaking as she asked her, it took Yang a couple seconds to realise she was actually _serious_ …

"Uh… Nora… You feeling okay? If… you wanna talk about what happened-" the girl shook her head around vigorously and began to drag Yang to a set of weights, leaving a worried Blake on her own.

"Dunno what you mean, Yang-a-rang! C'mon, before someone else grabs the good bench right under the vent"

She highly doubted that was gonna happen, the entire gym was empty and she had a descent idea why, if the huge weights attached to the bar she was heading towards and the fact she swore the bench itself was creaking under the weight of it all.

She imagined the sight of the enraged Berserker going nuts on the equipment would have made _anyone_ run for it.

As Nora made her way to the weights, Yang tore her hand free and grabbed Nora by the shoulders and turned her around.

"Nora. There is _no way_ you can keep going. Seriously. This is nuts! You look ready to drop!"

"Dunno-huff-Dunno what you're talking about!" she tried but Yang wasn't budging. This wasn't Nora, this wasn't the cheerful, pancake addict she'd come to know.

"Bull. Bull and you know it. Or did I not just see you attack that bag like it insulted Ren?"

That was clearly a bad move on her part, as all colour drained from Nora's face, her fists began to shake from something that definitely wasn't exhaustion. For a second, that glare returned, and Nora looked ready to lash out and attack her or at the very least, wrench herself from Yang's grip. That was until she seemed to catch herself, her anger dropping along with her body as it seemed to finally be allowed to feel the utter exhaustion she felt.

"Whoa… easy there" Yang said softly, her worry and annoyance replaced by her caring nature, as she lowered Nora to the floor as gently as she could. Letting her body slump against hers as she took in the sight of her exhausted friend. "Just let your heart calm down and relax. It'll be okay. Just let your body try and relax"

"Y-heh-yeah…" she said sleepily as Yang chose to move her towards a nearby wall in her arms, her own immense strength allowing her to do it with ease as the girl near fell asleep in her arms.

After a good while and constant sipping's of water, Nora finally managed to catch her breath and looked up at Yang and Blake with tired eyes that seemed to resemble two other people they knew on a personal level.

"S-Sorry… I…" she seemed to trail of as Yang placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled that motherly smile she had perfected over the years.

"No need, trouble" she grinned, getting a weak laugh from the girl. "I… Well, I know where you're coming from when it comes to this, I'm in hot water myself with Ruby... Must be hard when it's… well when it's someone you love like that, must suck since you must be thinking he'll end up rejecting you now if you ever confess, which I highly doubt he will by the way. You seem his type: Ball of crazy energy with big tits and thick thighs" her teasing didn't hold its usual vigour considering the topic, but she wanted to at least try and lighten the mood.

She immediately felt Blake's eyes on her, a blush coming across her face as she could have sworn those amber eyes went over her _own_ body... but the second her flicked her eyes to her, they darted away and Blake rubbed her arm with a confused expression on her face.

 _That_ seemed to grab Nora's attention, as her face went pale once again and she sent a tired glare towards her. "I… I don't love Rennie…"

"Didn't say it was him, could have been talking about your leader" she cocked an eyebrow, glad to see Nora hadn't retreated into her shell at the mention of Jaune, as she once again showed a rare expression for her. An utterly flabbergasted expression that had her looking like a fish out of water.

"I… I… heh… Yeah, it's about Rennie…" she admitted, making Yang let out a content sigh, the first step was always admitting it. "He told me earlier that I need to try and fix things with Jauney and Weiss for him to forgive me, but… I dunno how! I just… I tried and tried to think up something but every time I realised something wouldn't work, I just kept getting angrier and angrier… then. Well. You saw what came of that… I've just never had him angry at me before! It's _'yawn'_ it's weird for me… I feel lost without him…" she said, her head drooping and her body beginning to shake lightly as her emotions began to show.

"Well… you and me are in the same boat, like I said. Maybe we can work this out together? Two heads are better than one after all" she tried, hoping her words would bring up her mood a little and, to her relief, it seemed to work as she looked up at her with her turquoise eyes.

"Yeah… Rennie said to talk to you, said I have to do this without him but that I could talk to you since we messed up together" she said through a teary smile that Yang immediately wiped away with her thumb. The girl was really like a child when she was like this, and Yang was determined to help her. It was indeed also her fault.

"I… I can help if you want?" came Blake's voice and both lilac and turquoise eyes turned to look at her with a curious expression on her face, she would never say anything bad about her partner, but she... was not the most outgoing person. Then again, she had been helpful as hell lately, Yang fighting off a smile as to how her partner seemed to be more open to helping her than anyone else.

Still...

"That's okay, Blake. Me and Nora can handle this" she said, smiling at her to try and show she wasn't being mean about it but they needed her to try and solve this themselves, it was their problem after all and they needed to deal with it.

"I..." Blake trailed off, an upset expression on her face but she shook her head and smiled at her, nodding her head and going back to offering the water to Nora who smiled happily at her.

"Yeah… don't worry, Blakey! Me and Yang can fix this, we're like super duper smart" she said in a poor attempt at her usual cheer. Whether that was from tiredness or her emotional state, she wasn't sure.

"Sounds good to me, how about we go back to your room and we can talk all about it?" she said, knowing the talk would have to wait until tomorrow. Nora looked ready to fall asleep then and there, at the moment.

"Yeah _'yawn'_ I'd like that…" she replied, her head lolling onto her chest as sleep finally claimed her, her breathing taking an even tone now that she had finally allowed her body to rest.

As Yang scooped up the now snoozing Valkyrie and made her way to the door, she sent as honest a smile as she could at Blake, the last thing she wanted Blake to think was that she was angry at her... but she couldn't help but feel the odd tension between them which Yang had herself to blame... Blame this damn ache that started in her chest ever since she'd smiled at her with those pretty of her that morning.

They walked down the halls, still in their gym clothes, but stopped as they passed one of the larger training rooms. This one a simple room full of mats, where students could rent it out for training purposes. They couldn't get into proper fights or anything involving weapons that weren't blunt training ones, but hand to hand combat was allowed so long as at least three people were present to oversee it in case it got a little out of hand.

They stopped due to who was in there.

Fighting against what looked like an actual giant, with bulging muscles and an unyielding aura of power to add to the image, was Jaune. And He looked pissed.

* * *

Jaune hadn't been to sure as to why Coco and Velvet had insisted he get changed into his gym clothes, which consisted of Pumpkin Pete tank top and yellow joggers, and meet them at the gym.

He had just been happy about the fact he wouldn't have to suffer through combat class, then he had suddenly been reminded of the apparent hell he was going to go through. Knowing the two were only doing it to help him, he hadn't been able grumble. Instead he had simply smiled at them and told Pyrrha he'd meet her there, jogging to the locker rooms, being careful to avoid any flashes of white or golden blonde hair as he went.

Upon getting into his clothes, Jaune had entered the specified room she had told him to come to and found the sight of Pyrrha, Coco and Velvet in what he had to assume was their own training clothes.

Pyrrha was wearing her usual red tank top and a pair of loose fitting, black shorts. Alongside two red sweat bands on her wrists and a pair of designer sneakers, she looked ready to train. If her nervous smile was anything to go off of, however, then he had reason to be a little nervous himself.

Coco, with her sunglasses in place, was wearing a stylish and definitely designer tank top of her own. Starting off at a coal black around her neck, and flowing into a chocolate brown to a caramel gold at the base where a pair of black shorts with golden spirals along the sides took control and showed off her shapely legs that he immediately threw his eyes from down to her soft brown pumps that were bouncing side to side as the usually stoic girl showed off an excitement that made him oddly nervous.

Arriving at Velvet and he found her wearing an oddly conservative, considering how eye catching her combat outfit was, brown jacket with black trimming and was zipped up all the way to the top. Her legs were covered in matching joggers alongside a pair of cream coloured sneakers that fidgeted in place as he smiled at them.

"Hey, so… what do you have planned for me?" he asked hesitantly and Coco seemed to let her energy release as she bounced up to him and dragged his head down into a headlock to which he was powerless to get out of, he felt an odd tugging sensation as her grip took hold.

"No reason to sound so nervous, kid!" she hollered, dragging him back to his partner and her own and giving him a light noogie as she went. "Not gonna break ya!... at least not too badly" she added after a moment, seemingly enjoying the groan he gave.

"Coco!" came the distressed voice of Velvet who was sending her best attempt at a glare that was more adorable than angry looking. "You said you'd play nice!"

"Hey, I am playing nice!" she defended, placing a hand on her heart and trying to look offended, but the smirk kinda ruined it. "Just wanted to settle the kids' nerves before he meets Yats!" she replied, letting him out of her hold yet keeping her strong hand on his developing biceps.

With a 'harrumph' Velvet smiled at him and offered a shy wave while Pyrrha smiled pleasantly at the scene.

"Hello again, Jaune! How are you?" she questioned and he smiled at her, not wanting to bring her down and admit he was a little bit stressed and confused thanks to a certain brunette with red tipped hair, he made to tell her he was fine only to stop as he felt Coco's grip on him tighten. Turning to her, she looked at him and lowered her shades with her free hand and without the obstructing glasses to hide them, he realised something. Her eyes looked the same as his own had in the mirror last night. So tired and stressed out yet looking so empty inside. Ready to just give up and scream till she lost her voice. It made him realise just why she had taken hold of him... he honestly didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed with her.

She was his personal lie detector, and he had the feeling she would _instantly_ call him out if he tried to lie to her, Velvet or Pyrrha.

With an internal, and rare, swear of _crap!_ Jaune sighed and nodded at her to which she smiled pleasantly and returned her shades to her eyes.

"Honestly? Kinda crummy. Today has been… a lot to take in, but I'm honestly happy to see you both, I can promise you that" he admitted, rubbing the back of his head as Velvet's expression turned worried.

"Are you okay? Did… did something happen on the way to the changing rooms?" she enquired, before he could respond, Pyrrha voiced her concerns as well.

"Did Yang try and talk to you again? I can try and tell her to give you some space if you would like?"

Quickly quelling the anger he felt at the mentioning of her name, as he spotted a small frown appearing on Coco's face, he turned to them and was once again honest with them. If only because he had no choice and he honestly didn't feel like lying to both his friends and his partner to their faces. That was just wrong for him to do, especially at the moment.

"Nah, it wasn't Yang… When Ruby asked to speak with me earlier, she said some pretty weird things that she seems to think are true while I _know_ they're not… it got cut short when… _Weiss_ … texted her she was going to be late to class and she had to leave"

He knew he wouldn't be able to keep the slight bite out of his words at the mention of her name. Another glance at Coco told him she was definitely feeling his anger and apparently her own if the way she looked over to an annoyed looking Velvet and an actually _mad_ Pyrrha was anything to go by.

"Well. So long as Ice Bitch didn't try to mess with you, I guess we can let this slide" Coco said, releasing her grip on his arm and bringing him into a small hug that honestly surprised him. It ended just as quickly, with the anger he felt draining away as her semblance took effect, her hand forming a shaking fist that was quickly and gently gripped by Velvet. With a gentle sigh, calming herself as it left her body, her usual confident smile was back in place. "Now. You ready to meet your training partner? I gave him a call and he should be here any minute. I'd introduce you to the other member of our team, but he's busy reading his adventure books" she smiled at what must have been a in joke, if the way Velvet giggled was anything to go off.

As if by cue, the door to the room was suddenly opened and in stepped what Jaune could only describe as a giant.

Rippling with powerful muscles that honestly made him a little jealous, his chest was covered in a covered in a tight fitting muscle shirt of a pale green colour, while his shorts were an earthy brown and were surprisingly baggy, even on his massive frame. His feet were oddly bare, but he imagined it would be hard to even find just one pair of shoes for the man before him.

He was at least seven foot tall, dwarfing even Jaune himself, raising his head to get a look at his face.

He had tanned, mocha coloured skin that led up to a face set that seemed set in a calm expression that locked onto him the second he took note of him. His black hair was cropped short into something similar to a militaristic style and his small, brown eyes didn't look at him suspiciously as he had initially thought. Instead they looked at him with an analysing stare, as if they were peering into his very soul.

If he were being perfectly honest. He felt incredibly intimidated.

Walking up to him, the giant looked towards Velvet who gave him a pleasant smile before turning to him and offering a hand.

Doing his best to not flinch, Jaune took his hand and was surprised by the softness with which his hand was shook.

"Greetings, Jaune Arc. My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi. I have been informed, that I will be helping you train. I promise to try not to hurt you too much"

A strangled squeak came from his mouth in reply. His mind trying to force his bladder to remain full at the thought of this monster of a man hitting him with any kind of force. Not even Miss Goodwitch could inspire such fear in him… though he imagined that was due to the fact she herself couldn't attack him.

"Um… Yatsu?" came Velvets' inquiring voice, thankfully drawing the attention of the man before him. That same man looked kindly at the Faunus girl, akin to the way he looked at his sisters whenever they smiled at him. It honestly helped to ease his nerves just a little. "I… I think you may be scaring Jaune" she winced as Jaune looked at her and nodded ever so slightly. He wasn't afraid to admit the man terrified him...

"Oh. My sincerest apologies, Jaune Arc. It was not my intention to frighten you, I have been informed by Velvet and Coco, that I can come across as intimidating. I assure you that I will only go as far as you wish me to go and no further, my only intention is to help you get stronger. It is the least I can do to thank you for protecting my Imōto*" he smiled, though Velvet went incredibly red and began to sputter quite violently.

"Ya-Yatsuhashi! I told you to not call m-me that! Its e-e-embarrassing!" she eeped from behind her ears that had dropped in front of her eyes and face in general. She crossed the distance between them instantly and began to weakly bat against his hard as steel chest that brought a smile to his face and chuckle from his belly. "S-Stop laughing! It's not funny!" she tried to tell him and it only brought more laughter from Coco, himself and even Pyrrha who giggled from behind her hand.

"Don't worry babe, Yatsu is only looking out for his _Imōto!"_ she giggled, wrapping her arms around the pouting girl and gave her a playful squeeze.

"May I enquire as to what that means? I'm afraid I've never heard of such a word" Pyrrha asked, her giggles back under control, though her lips were still tilted into an amused smile.

"It's a little thing from Yatsu's home town, it means 'little sister' and he just can't help but see my _little-cutey-patootey-girlfriend_ as one~!" Coco giggled in a singsong voice and keeping an Iron grip on said girlfriend who was clearly doing her best to escape from the embarrassing clutches of her girlfriend.

With that, all of Jaune's fear of the man disappeared. If there was one thing he understood, it was a brother. Though he was younger than all but one of his sisters, he certainly could see a little of himself in the giant. Especially in the size difference. One of the only things he ever kept over his sisters, was that he was always taller than them all and he always made sure they knew it.

With a genuine smile, no longer held back by his nerves, he once again thrust his hand forward to him. "Sorry about that, gotta admit you _are_ a little intimidating… But I can respect a brother who loves his little sister" he flicked his eyes over to Velvet who was looking at him with a face of utter betrayal. It was honestly hilarious and brought a calming sensation to his heart… he enjoyed this. This feeling of being relaxed and happy. It was rare for him these days...

"It is no worry. Right" he said with his deep, rumbling voice. "Shall we begin? I am eager to see how strong you are"

Aaaand there went his calmness.

"Heheh… It's not much. Honestly, I don't think I can hold a candle against you" he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, don't put yourself down Jaune" Pyrrha gently chastised, bumping a shoulder into his own and smiling at him pleasantly. "You held firm against that Deathstalkers tail strike even before you and I started to train properly and you have a solid defence" she said, drawing the raised eyebrow of Coco and Yastuhashi.

"Say what now? You seriously took on a strike. From a Deathstalker. _Before_ red started to train you?" she questioned a look of disbelief on her face. As soon as both he and Pyrrha nodded, him awkwardly while Pyrrha did so proudly, Coco was in his face and staring him right in the eyes. "We talking a small, big or ancient one?"

"It was most certainly an ancient one, it seemed to have been alive for at least a couple decades and was strong enough that it required our entire team to take it down" Pyrrha once again stated, her pride in him sending a little bit of warmth to his cheeks.

"Wow. Okay this may not be as hard as I might think. Yats, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Coco asked, looking at the giant who was watching him with mild surprise.

"I believe I am, Coco. Jaune?" he enquired, taking a few large steps towards the centre of the room and motioning for Jaune to follow. "I am going to hit you, I want you to try and withstand my strike. Block it however you wish and take whatever stand you like. I wish to see your sturdiness for myself"

Alarm bells went off in Jaune's head, there was no way he could stand a hit this guy! He would be crushed into a fine paste! He thought that maybe he would be teaching him how to take a hit or how to deal powerful strikes, but it seemed that this guy just wanted to squash him! He wasn't strong enough to do this! He-!

A sharp smack to the back of his head caused him to snap out of his panic and turn around to find an exasperated looking Coco holding a small book in her hand.

"Didn't even have to touch you to know what you were feeling just then buster. Remember. I can tell emotions with just a look at someone, so I could tell you were ready to shrink yourself into a lovely little corner of self-deprecating doubt. Relax, confidence can do some wonderous things to your combat performance! Plus, it could help you catch the eyes of a few girls who deserve such a _schweet wittle_ guy like yourself!" she grinned, though he could tell she was just trying to help. Coco didn't seem like the kind of person to mince words after all.

* * *

Pyrrha didn't miss the look Coco gave her at her words. Neither did she fail to spot how, upon her own cheeks growing a little red, her grin got even larger.

She would have liked to have been annoyed at the girl for trying to push her through the subtle hint other girls may begin to find Jaune attractive, but she quickly pushed down her jealousy. She was here to help Jaune and to bring a smile to his face. The fact the thought of his sweaty body causing his shirt to cling to his taught muscles, crossed her mind meant nothing…

* * *

"Heh… yeah… sorry. Never really had the best confidence in the world" he smiled at her and she smiled right back.

"Well I intend to either help you gain it or simply beat it into you, can't have you holding yourself back forever. May never get to see what kind of badass you can become otherwise!" she grinned, and Velvet also joined in, smiling sweetly at him.

"You and me are a lot alike in that sense, Jaune. I'm… I'm fairly sure it's obvious I struggle to deal with confidence and large groups of people, but Coco and Yatsuhashi are a big help. I do hope you and I can both stand tall soon, together"

Their encouragement brought a smile to his face. He was glad he had people like this he could still rely on.

"Thanks, Velv. I promise to try and live up to your expectations" he joked, drawing a small laugh from her.

Free from his nerves once again, Jaune turned to face the waiting giant.

Taking a few steps forward and standing at what he guessed was about the reach of his arms, Jaune got into an unarmed stance Pyrrha had been teaching him. It relied on making the body both balanced and hard to move while allowing for sudden and quick movements, whether they be dodges or attacks. Due to them both using shields, Pyrrha had also shown him how to deflect heavy attacks, but he had the feeling he wasn't meant to deflect whatever was coming.

"Are you ready, Jaune Arc?" he questioned, his stance looking more like a slugger version of Ren's own.

"As I'll ever be" he answered, doing his best to keep a calm and level head as he stared down what could be near literal bulldozer of pain coming for him.

At his words, the giant man moved with surprising speed and struck him, Jaune moving his arms just in time to take the blow on his forearms as they locked together over his chest.

The strike was powerful and heavy, making him feel as if the bones in his arms were creaking under the force of the strike, near moving him back if it weren't for the firm planting of his feet on the ground. Though he stood firm against the strike, he felt the pain explode across his arms and swore that even with Aura, he would soon have a rather large bruise on both arms.

With that one strike, Yatsuhashi withdrew into his stance and stared at him with an approving stare. He on the other hand, shook his arms to try and get some feeling back into them and muttered about what he had to do to get that strong.

"Hrmmm… not bad, kid. You can handle Yats at about… 40% power?" Coco questioned, looking at the man while Jaune looked on in disbelief.

 _How the heck was that only 40% power!? I fell like my arms would have been turned to mush if he hit me any harder!_ He inwardly groaned, begging Coco didn't plan on having Yatsuhashi hit him with more power over and over again.

Shockingly, Yatsuhashi shook his head and nodded proudly at Jaune who felt his confidence rise just a little, maybe that had actually hit him at like, 80%? That would do wonders for his confidence right now!

"No. I actually hit him at 50% you did mention he had high aura. I assumed he could handle it and he did. Though if you wish for him to actually get some training in, then I would not advise asking me to hit him any harder"

 _Oh. Well there goes my confidence_... _dang it..._

"Don't worry, Jaune" Velvet called, drawing his attention to both her and Pyrrha's pleased smiles. "Yats' can hit hard enough to kill an Alpha Beowulf in a single blow. So… Take pride in that!" he couldn't help but chuckle, being around her team seemed to give the Faunus girl a much needed boost in confidence that he enjoyed seeing.

"Agreed, now" Yastuhashi spoke again, drawing Jaune's attention back to him as the man talked to Coco. "How would you like us to proceed, Coco?"

The grin Coco got at his words, after a moment of pondering with her finger to her lips, made him a little scared.

"I say... since we know he can _take_ a hit, we see if he can _give_ just as good. You are gonna spar with Yats and keep trying to hit him until you do. I'll give you… 10 minutes to try and hit him. Try and impress me, kid, I pumped you up to Yats here. Said you could kick his ass this time next year with the right training!" she grinned, her hand reaching down and giving a smack to his butt as she passed him, drawing an embarrassed "EEK!" from him.

Looking at the girl in disbelief, she gave him an unapologetic shrug and proceeded to walk behind the mildly exasperated Velvet and wrap her arms around her shoulders, though she leaned her head a little to the side as Coco began to whisper in her ear. It seemed this was a regular occurrence, if the mildly amused look on Yatsuhashi's face said anything.

"It would appear Coco truly likes you, she only ever does that to people she considers true friends" he smiled sagely, standing a bit further back into the centre of the room, giving him and Jaune enough room so as not to accidentally bump into the others.

"Thanks, I feel so honoured…" he grumbled rubbing his sore rear and not noticing the ever so slight widening of the giants eyes as he looked behind him.

"I would move if I were you" he said and Jaune, feeling that this man wasn't one pull to pull a 'behind you!' move before punching him, immediately side stepped and just dodged a training sword that bounced onto the mat beside him.

"Hey!" he shouted, glaring at the once again smug looking Coco.

"Ah, relax! Red said I should give you a weapon to make it feel more natural! Since real weapons aren't allowed though, I had to make do. You can thank me later!"

 _Oh, I am so getting you back for that Coco… so long as I can hide behind Velvet, so you don't kill me for whatever I do_ he thought, knowing his anger wasn't at all real towards her. He'd been angry for a while now, in his terms, so he knew what it would feel like if he was actually annoyed with her.

Grabbing the sword, he got into his more regular fighting stance, though in the absence of his shield, he chose to simply keep his off-hand next to his cheek. His sword could be used as a hand and a half style weapon, but he didn't have near enough practice with it to use it against a second year like Yatsuhashi. The one thing Pyrrha had been drilling into his skull was to only use a combat style you were comfortable and trained in. To go in with one you didn't know all that well and were still a bit stiff in, would be asking to have your butt handed to you.

"Okay!" Coco announced, stepping forward and with an announcer style tilt to her voice. "Iiiiiin this corner! We have the stone walled, goliath! The master of the one-shot punch! The king of playing it cool… YYYYYYAAATSUHASHI DAICHIIII!" she grinned as the man in question, and true to her last title, kept a cool face with only the faintest hint of a smile.

"And! Iiiiiin this corner! He's a 6ft beanpole of pure screw you to all deathstalkers! He's the lord of terrible clothing! And he has more Aura than any girl could handle!" _suddenly regretting this more and more…_ "JAAAAAAUUUUNE AAAAAAARRRRC!"

The fact that he noticed even Pyrrha lost her composure and cringed at the girls' words, made him feel a little better about the fact he went as red as a tomato.

"Alright ladies, I want a clean fight. It ends if you" she pointed at him as she said it. "Can land a hit on Yats, as a reward, we'll stick to basic training for tonight and a simple plan to help you along when we're not training you. If he manages to dodge each and every attack until the timer runs out, then it's one-hundred laps with Velvet. If you've seen her legs, you'll know that bunny can bounce!" she grinned, even as Velvet once again began to stutter and blush at her words. "We all understand the rules?" the both nodded, though Jaune did with a little confidence, even his lacklustre combat skills would struggle to not hit Yatsuhashi. He was nearly as broad as Jaune was tall! "Begin!" she shouted and Jaune exploded forward, an unusual amount of speed in his step, he wanted to prove Coco's words right! He wanted to prove he wasn't going to back down from a challenge! That he could do this!

That mentality quickly disappeared as Jaune watched his sword get, easily, pushed aside by the palm of his opponent who sidestepped his attack like it was in slow-motion.

Not expecting to have to handle the sudden force with which his weapon was deflected, nor the ongoing momentum that wasn't stopped by his blade hitting shirt and muscle, Jaune went flying and landed painfully on his face with a surprised yelp and a pained grunt.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelped, worry crossing her face as she looked tempted to try and help him as he got to his feet.

"Yatsuhashi!" Velvet pouted adorably, her slight glare was directed at the apologetic looking giant.

"Ouch… dang that's gotta hurt… Get your ass up, kid! Can't have you going down after _that!"_ Coco yelled. The words, though slightly annoying, gave him the drive to stand up straight. "I saw that annoyingly smug look in your eyes there, kid! Just because he's big doesn't mean he just lets the Grimm hit him!"

Taking her words to heart, Jaune got his ego under control.

Another lesson from Pyrrha he'd forgotten, don't ever go against an opponent expecting an easy victory. Always face your foe prepared to fight tooth and nail for the victory. Give them the respect they deserve, and you increase the odds of victory ten-fold.

Taking a more slow and easy approach. Jaune began to test his attacks, trying to imitate the moves he saw Pyrrha use as she gauged her opponents' skills.

It would appear that Yatsuhashi knew what he was doing though, barely reacting as Jaune went in for testing strikes, and easily slapping away or dodging his more direct attacks. The worst part was that he clearly wasn't even trying. It seemed her was more occupied in trying to make sure he guided Jaune away from the trio of girls instead of the actual fight.

Meanwhile, Jaune was just getting tired. Tired and sweaty. His body was already getting tired from the wasted energy he expended with every failed strike. It hadn't even been 3 minutes and yet he felt like been going for 20.

He refused to give up though. He wouldn't look weak again. He refused to be weak and let that smug brat get something else to have over him.

Thrusts towards the shoulders were side-stepped and pushed away.

Slashes towards the guts hit air as his opponent hopped back and began to bounce slightly on his feet.

Punches and kicks were grappled away or avoided with far too much simplicity.

Trying to keep his growing annoyance under control, Jaune fought onward. He would land a hit if it _killed_ him!

Lunging forward, Jaune smiled slightly as Yatsuhashi side-stepped once again. Quickly adjusting his stance to a lower one, Jaune quickly withdrew the the blade which was much lighter than what he was used to, gripping it two handed before stabbing towards his opponents left shoulder.

The speed was good for him. As well as the force and the actual fluidness of the strike.

Jaune imagined he may have actually landed a hit if he had been watching his opponents' lower half.

Instead, he got a powerful roundhouse to the wrist and watched as the blade went skittering from his hands to hit against the wall with a resounding thud.

"Okay, stop! Oum, all mighty this is just painful" Coco groaned, stepping up and giving him a disapproving look, frankly it annoyed him too much to bother realising how out of place it seemed.

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea. You're clearly not good enough for this yet. How about we go for something eas-"

"NO!"

The thunderous word ripped from his throat before he could even catch himself. It honestly surprised him, in fact everyone looked surprised at his little outburst and he couldn't blame them. But he had said it. He couldn't back down now. Not when the image of the very girl he didn't want to think about popped into his head. Not when his angry mind told him she'd mock him if she ever found out he'd taken the easy way.

"…Sorry… No. I don't want to take the easy way out. I want to do this, plus, you promised me hell, this doesn't seem like hell right now" he grinned, taking a little pleasure in the small amount of annoyance that crossed her face.

"Hmm. Okay then. Yatsu? You get to hit back now" she stated, clearly taking her own enjoyment in the fact that Jaune felt his face pale. "Not too hard, just enough to let him know what he's up against, though I wanna speak to you a second"

After leading the giant away to speak to him privately, they both returned with the mans' face looking oddly grim while Coco looked happier than ever.

"Very well. Many a person has been foolish enough to think they will survive teasing Coco. This is a lesson you must learn the harsh way, I am afraid" Yatsuhashi said grimly, which didn't help Jaune's mood in the slightest. "Coco has been kind enough to reset the clock, so you have the full ten minutes to try and strike me.

Once again, he and Yatsuhashi got into position and, with the call to fight from Coco, they went at each other again with Jaune being a little warier now that Yatsuhashi could hit back.

He was right to, it seemed.

With the restraint of not taking advantage of Jaune's, apparently, many openings, Yatsuhashi showed his true might.

Slices to the chest were quickly smacked aside with force than before and he was hit by a dizzying cuff to the back of the head.

Any fist or kick he threw was always grabbed before he would be violently shoved back to either steady himself or land on his ass in a grinding motion.

His stabs to above the waste were dodged and he was once again cuffed, not punched, but cuffed. Like he didn't think he could take a hit to the head. It honestly annoyed him a little. He didn't care if he was obviously weaker than Yatsuhashi, he was still a huntsman in training and he bet he had _a lot_ more Aura than even the giant did.

Any stab or slash that got even close to his legs was immediately kneed or swept aside and a gruff hand would grab his over extended wrist and throw him to the floor, kicking his legs from under him as he went. Though even Jaune himself could tell that Yatsuhashi wasn't putting in anywhere close to what could be called effort as he did. It made him even angrier than the cuffs.

One constant during the entire damn exchange was that he _never_ attacked first. He would always let Jaune go first and then either use his own momentum against him or simply block the attack and then slam him with another cuff or throw. Like he wasn't deserving of being hit by him with a proper attack!

He wasn't in need of being coddled.

He wasn't pathetic and weak like she had insisted he was.

He wasn't _cowardly!_

He wasn't _weak!_

 _I'm not a waste of space. I deserve to be here and damn you if you say otherwise. I don't care what you think!_

He was going to damn well hit the big idiot if it killed him!

His attacks were growing reckless and he knew, yet he didn't care. All thoughts of trying to find an opening were abandoned as he moved in to attack and _attack_ and **_attack_**. He wasn't going to give the bastard an inch.

Knock him down? He'd go to kick his legs as he went.

Push aside his blade and go to cuff him? He'd simply ignore the pain and go for another.

Throw him a good four feet and watch him face plant the mat he was becoming infuriatingly acquainted with? He'd just come back harder and faster.

 _I don't care what you say! Your opinion isn't something I care about!_

As Jaune once again collided with the mat, he heard the grumble of an annoyed voice. To anyone else, it would have been hard to make out. Near impossible even.

If not for the fact he knew the person those words belonged to and that he had to stop for the briefest of moments to actually realise _they_ had said it.

Coco stood there with a look of disdain on her face that bordered on disgust as she looked at him.

"Psh. Maybe the ice bitch was right. You really are useless" she spat, her angry gaze looking at him like he was muck beneath her boot.

 _Wh-what?_ A simple four-letter word. It was all that came to mind as he stared at her in disbelief before Yatsuhashi decided to finally go on the offensive and clipped him around the ear, forcefully making Jaune back up, though his eyes never left Coco's.

"You really are a waste of space, aren't you? I honestly wonder why Pyrrha hasn't requested another partner already, I mean I've seen babies with more talent than you" the _smirk_ that spread across her face shocked him even more than her words…

 _What?_ Came his sole thought once again.

Looking to Pyrrha for help to understand what was going on, he found no comfort in her. Her head was turned away from him, her hair covering her eyes and a frown set on her lips. Her demeaner was a resigned one, with her body tight and taught as her arms wrapped around her sides and her body itself twisted away from him.

Why wouldn't she look at him? Why wasn't she defending him from her? Why was Coco acting like this?

A much harder cuff to his head sent him sprawling, the force driving him to land in front of Coco who let out a cruel laugh.

"Hah! Wow… that was really sad to watch. How did you even get into this school?" she mocked, the thunderous pain in his chest near blocking her as the orchestra slammed their instruments to a screeching tune, the white walls that bound them feeling weak and fragile to the murderous melody. "Now I know why Velvet took pity on you, she could never help herself but try to help the _weak_ and worthless ones like you"

 _No… No Velvet is my friend… right?_ His quickly clouding mind thought as he looked to the girl, only to find her also not looking at him. instead she seemed to find great interest in the floor, her entire being trying to desperately hide itself from him. Why wouldn't she look at him? Why wouldn't she stop Coco? Why… why wouldn't she look at him!?

The giants' hits were getting harder, they hurt. They hurt so much. So why did they also feel so numb compared to the pain in his chest?

Another hit and he was hammered down to his knees and he wasn't allowed time to recover as a large hand enveloped his shoulder to slam him down onto his back expelling the wind from his lungs and drawing a pained gasp as he once again looked to his… friends?

They still wouldn't look at him, Velvet had actually walked away, like she couldn't even bare to look at how pathetic he was.

Pyrrha's face was strained into a grimace as her eyes met his for only a brief moment before they darted away, like she couldn't bare to look at how _pathetic_ he was…

"Heh… Oh well, may as well just stop here. No point wasting Yatsu's time when you don't even make a good punching bag! Seriously, I thought that I could at least keep you around for a little while and put that massive aura of yours to some use! But… well… I guess you really are just a waste of space"

…

…

Rage.

…

…

Pain.

…

…

Why was this happening? Why was the girl that had hugged him, comforted him, taken on and literally shared his pain… why was she doing this to him? She had seemed so caring in her own way. She had been there for him when he needed it most and seemed to want to be his friend…

Why was Velvet just _standing_ there? She had seemed so nice… She had gone to him of her own volition to ask what was wrong with him and had happily listened to him as he told her his problems. He had, in turn, saved her from Cardin. He had been so angry as to why he would dare harm his knew friend for simply being a Faunus. _She_ had been the one to ask Coco for her help…

Even Pyrrha… his best friend in the world… or so he thought. She simply stood there. Uncaring as to his pain and sadness as she refused to even look in his direction, a near angry scowl on her face. She was his partner though… she was practically a sister to him… she had been there when he had admitted to her that he had forged his transcripts and happily accepted him… why wouldn't she help him?

They were all his friends…

Weren't they?

Maybe… maybe they **weren't**. Maybe he was a simple **toy** to them. Something to have their twisted fun with until they grew bored with him and just abandoned him to rot… to leave him alone. So **alone**.

A much calmer Jaune would have simply sat there and thought through what had just happened, he would have taken the time to answer his own questions and made sense of what was going on.

Jaune was not calm, however, he was so _incredibly_ angry. He had been hurt by people he only wanted to make happy and help, like he had thought they were helping him… now he realised he was just some fun little game to them. See how long we can abuse poor little Jaune Arc till he snaps. Well he had. And he was oh so angry. In fact, he only remembered being this angry only once before… the image of a red-faced angel from the foulest pits of hell was what finally brought down the red mist.

He was a puppet to them?

Well he was about to **snap** his strings and prove he was not worthless.

With rage in his eyes and a murderous, screeching beat in his chest, he lunged for the near featureless blob in front of him that he _knew_ had been knocking him around like a rag-doll.

His savage strikes were dodged once more, but he noticed through the blood coloured haze that his enemies' movements were sharper than before. They were beginning to take him seriously and he relished the fear he would no doubt be spreading through their heart and mind. He slashed for the ribs then immediately thrust forward with a punch, then a kick to the groin followed by another slash and a stab. With each attack he made in his flurry of attacks, he received his own. They went unnoticed as all that crossed his mind was a single-minded determination, to _hit. This. Bastard._ They all missed but his enemies footing was getting more and more hasty, more and more panicked.

 _I am not some toy! I will not be used! I won't let_ anyone _ever hurt me again!_

Then it happened. During a failed slam of his pommel to his enemies gut, did the enemy strike with a fist. Not a back hand or a smacking of the palm across his head. No this was a punch that was aimed to deal massive damage. That was where the puppet with cut strings got lucky. His sweat covered body, combined with the fact he was subcontiously pouring his aura into the areas he was struck and into his fists and blade as he attacked, allowing him to power through the otherwise painful strikes, caused the enemies fist to glance off his head.

Then it finally happened.

He saw it. with his body overextending from the failed strike, and his balance off centre, Jaune had a perfect strike angle at his enemies solar plexus. _he would do this! he would win and prove he meant something!_

In his battle-lust induced haze, he just about barely heard a feminine voice. One which spiked his anger levels even further.

"NOW!"

It all happened so suddenly. One moment, his blade has been ready to crash against his skull. The next, the enemy had his weapon in his massive hand, holding it like the power behind his blow meant nothing to him. Another moment and he was flying through the air, a searing pain shooting through his jaw as he did.

He impacted, something both hard and soft that seemed to fly with him as he went. Both him and the thing he'd hit, collided with a thunderous boom into the wall. The pain that exploded in his back and head was near torturous agony and he let out a silent scream as his neck snapped back before slowly lulling forward against his will to rest on his chest.

In his haze, his blurry vision made out two shapes rushing toward him, one with hair the colour of flame, the other assaulted his senses with the smell of chocolate.

As soon as his suddenly weak limbs were able to take his weight, though it seemed a miracle they could, his stumbled away from the soft something that'd caught him and made to attack his enemy once again and away from the two figures he didn't even want to look at.

He wouldn't lose, he wouldn't let himself be beaten down again.

He.

Would.

Win!

With a cry he'd made to sound bloody thirsty, but instead came out as a tired whimper, he swung his weapon with what now seemed to be arm far beyond exhaustion and it tapped uselessly against the giant.

Yet still her persisted, he would tear himself apart to win.

It was all he had now with Coco… Velvet… even _Pyrrha_ abandoning him… he had nothing but rage and pain.

When all of a sudden, a small pair of arms wrapped around his waste and he began to feel a familiar sensation take over him. Like all his anger was just… going away…

 _No… No, I don't want to go back to just being sad… I don't want to go back to… to just wanting to sleep…_

Slapping at her arms weakly, Jaune tried to break free of the monsters' grip… he wanted to be angry. _He needed to be angry._ But it was no use… he could feel it all going and it was all he could do to stand there and not collapse as the pain and exhaustion he wanted to pretend wasn't there came flooding back.

"It's okay… It's okay… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry Jaune…" came the agonised voice of Coco.

* * *

Moments before-

"He's getting worse" Velvet said quietly… her voice full of worried fear. "Yatsu always had an advantage on him in straight out combat... But… if he had just kept up methodically trying to find a way to hit him, then Jaune may have actually had a chance. But… like this… I don't like seeing him like this, Coco. It's like…" she trailed off, But Coco knew exactly what her girlfriend meant. The face she saw before her was the same one he'd worn when they first met. All that anger he had inside him was bubbling to the surface and without the knowledge of how to control it, he was getting more and more uncoordinated and inaccurate. She actually saw a point he could have landed a strike as Yastu dodged a wild swing, if only his mind wasn't clouded with an angry fog. He was close to exploding into a ball of rage and fury as more and more of his shots were easily dodged, countered or simply missed without much work on her teammates part.

It was all going to plan.

"I agree, Jaune is usually a very calculated thinker and tries his best to keep a cool head in combat. This is more akin to wild swinging and roaring, it's quite worrying to watch. Should we stop the match?" Red's voice said worriedly. Gods she was really hung up over the kid, she was so worried about him… maybe she didn't need to worry about her asking him out once he got his head sorted out.

"Not a chance. Listen girls, I have a plan that will set his stupid head back on straight" she said, watching as both girls' attention snapped to her as she let out a pained sigh. She didn't want to do this. Gods she didn't. Even thinking it made her feel utter disgust with herself. But the knuckle-head needed to realise it sooner or later… at least this way he stood a better chance at Forever Fall. "But… you're not gonna like it. I'm gonna make him angrier"

"Wh-what!?" Velvet said in a harsh whisper, her eyes wide and looking at her with accusing eyes. Red wasn't much better, actually looking ready to give her a piece of her mind and fist.

"Just… listen to me… okay?" she asked, near begged as Jaune's weapon looked ready to explode as it hit the mat from a deflected strike.

"… Fine." Came red's clipped response.

"You see that?" she said, gesturing towards where the kid was stabbing at Yatsu with murder in his eyes. Both girls nodded, not wanting to look at the scene longer than they had to. "Well. That's just gonna get worse until something stops him or teaches him a lesson. Or… until he kills himself"

Those words seemed to hit them harder than any of her previous ones. Hell, it hit her harder than she thought it would.

"I'm going to show him where that anger will get him, Yastu already knows the plan but he won't put it into action if I don't… and I won't unless you both agree. Before you answer though, just think about what will happen if he doesn't learn? If it's not someone beating the shit out of him, it'll be an Ursa if he gets too lost in his thoughts or sees Snow Bitch."

The silence that followed was unnerving and frankly annoying.

She wanted to help the idiot, but she knew if she went ahead without her girlfriends, and his infatuated teammates, permission then the plan wouldn't work. She needed them to play along, but to do that they'd need to go against their kind natures.

"You don't need to do anything. Hell, you don't even need to look at him, just don't stop me or argue with me when I start. That sound fair to you?"

The apprehensive looks continued to persist until, with an animalistic growl, Jaune made to attack again. A heavy cleave that was painfully telegraphed was easily dodged by Yatsu and resulted in the kid getting a painful shove that clearly hurt but he seemed adamant he wouldn't show it.

With that move, red and Velvet seemed to finally realise that she was right, looking at her with eyes filled with grim acceptance, they nodded at her.

Taking a deep breath, Coco turned to see Jaune hit the mat once again and prepared herself to hurt someone who didn't need any more agony in his life.

* * *

Before his confused mind could comprehend what the hell was going on, he felt Coco move to his front, her movements slow and deliberate as if she was worried he would lash out if she startled him… he honestly wished he could prove her wrong, but he didn't trust his body not to…

She came around his front and looked into his eyes, her own looking both full of rage that she was quelling and intense sadness threatening to break the damn. He wanted to care… he wanted to hold her and apologize to her for taking his anger and forcing her body to deal with it… but frankly he wanted to either punch her or walk away. Considering that her teammate had just proven his… _utter… pathetic…_ _ **weakness**_ , he chose to instead leave. He was done here. He didn't need any more of her, or anyone else's, lies.

"No" came her firm yet sad voice as he made to leave, her strong arms holding his tired body down with ease, which only drove him to try harder to escape her. "No! no… you need to listen to me. Right now, Jaune" she said in a voice that would have been soothing to him if he didn't know what she was like. How she didn't actually care about him.

"Why the hell should I!?" he roared, trying to break her grip with renewed vigour as he felt three bodies stand by near him. "So you can use me as a damn punching bag!? I thought you cared! I thought you were my friend! I let myself be _weak_ around you!... I… I thought you gave a _damn_ about me…" feeling her grip slacken on him as his words reached her, he wrenched his hands free and moved to storm past her, though he made sure to glare at his partner and the girl he thought was his friend, as he said. "I thought you were my _friends_ "

He made it a grand total of about five steps before her hand once again grabbed his arm. Doing all he could to not lash out and strike her, Jaune took in a deep breath and exhaled the excess fury he held. He wouldn't hit her. Partly because he didn't want to give the satisfaction of being able to hit him right back and… partly because of the friendship he _thought_ they shared.

"Let. Go. Coco" he growled, refusing to look at her or those who had refused to help him when he needed them. "I don't know what I'll do if you don't, but I know it won't be pretty"

That didn't mean he wasn't willing to make it clear if she persisted that he wouldn't. His mind and soul felt tired. Even the thrumming beat that had been causing him agony mere moments ago, was now a quiet beat. Strong, unfaltering but very much quiet.

He just wanted to sleep.

He wanted to sleep for a _very_ long time.

"I know. You'll punch me in the face because I'm a cruel heartless bitch who made you feel like you were cared for. Go ahead. Do it. Make me regret ever using you" she said in an even and calm tone. Her body like stone and this time, he knew he would not break her grip.

"Let. _Go"_ he repeated once again, his remaining aura beginning to shine with his emotionally dangerous state.

"No. Not until you hit me. Or at least try."

Oh. So she thought she could do what his enemy had been doing and dodge his attack, then come right back with her own? Heh. Even he knew that at this range, and with her grip on him keeping one hand busy, he had a high chance of landing a hit. He felt strong once again. The tiredness was still there, in fact it had grown stronger since he got up, but he knew he had at least one good hit left in him. Maybe two if his hit connected with enough force to knock her down…

 _But could you do it?_ came that infuriating voice from before. Why did his mind hate him so much? To the point where it questioned itself, and therefore _him_ , on everything he wanted to do!?

"C'mon, Arc. Or are you gonna let _Snow Angel_ win?

Jaune had an answer for the voice.

 _Yes_.

Yes he could do it.

He _was_ doing it.

With a twist, his body span around his fist went with it in a wild haymaker, aimed directly for her damned eyes that just loved to throw his pain right back at him.

It was going to hurt, that much he could tell. His fist was going to connect right under her left eye, and would strike with enough force to probably temporarily blind that eye if he got lucky. It would definitely be enough to knock her right on her high and mighty ass.

So why the hell did she look so _calm!?_ Like it didn't matter that a fist full of righteous rage about to connect with her face!

It didn't matter.

He was done.

He was going to bed to sleep.

All he needed to do was take care of the thing stopping him.

Then. The most confusing thing in the world happened.

Casually ducking her head forward and to the side barely a couple inches, his fist sailed right past Coco's head and his weight carried him forward till he collided with her. Her expression was almost bored as she reversed their positions, causing his body to slam into the mat with high force before her one hand clamped down on his clenched one, the other pinning his shoulder as her knee pressed down on the fist he hadn't used to punch at her.

This made no sense. His aim had been dead on. He had been told that if you looked at what you were aiming for, then your fist would naturally aim for it with a little help from the person themselves.

Why had it taken just a simple twitch of her head to dodge his strike and pin him like he was some damn child playing hero!?

Looking in her eyes with his own, hate filled, ones he noticed that her eyes held an unnatural nurturing look to them.

 _Why is she faking to care even the slightest bit about me even now…_ he internally growled. Refusing to let her hear the pain and shock in his voice.

"Two things, Jaune. One; using your anger in a fight is all well and good. I know more than a few people who use it every day in fights, it's even part of a few peoples' semblances. The problem with you, is that they know _how_ to use their anger. They control it. They _own_ it. You on the other hand let it control _you_. Bet you thought that swing you just threw was gonna connect, right? Well, if you'd remained in control, then you'd have probably landed it. Thing is, you didn't, you let your fist fly and assumed it would stay on course. Problem with a wild haymaker when you throw it and your both exhausted and pissed off, your brain doesn't focus properly and your trajectory can go off like it just did. Imagine if I'd have been your opponent in a real fight or, even worse, a Grimm you were fighting. What would have happened when your clumsy excuse for a strike missed then? You'd have either been soundly kicked around like a football, or you'd be dead, eaten alive by whatever monstrosity you were against. I would have loved to tell you this before, but you would have simply pushed it aside in favour of going berserk. I needed to show you proof, _show_ you that letting yourself get put into that state of mind would only lead to getting your ass kicked. _Oh, but I beat the crap out of dickchester when I was this mad_ is what I bet you're thinking right now. And yeah, you did. But what would have happened if he was ready for you? That you didn't have the element of surprise on your hand? You'd have been a big, blonde stain on the cafeteria floor. _That's_ why I said those things, Jaune. I needed you to go nuts, so you could realise how destructive you're being yourself" Jaune let the words sink is as she spoke... He let all her words sink into his brain as he processed what she said.

That… that wasn't true. He'd only lost because they were second years. They would _naturally_ beat him… right? He had beaten Cardin! He had won! Then… why did her words make so much sense… why did they make so much _damn_ sense!

He knew he was having trouble with his anger after all this mess had started, but it wasn't that bad, right?

He'd _won_ a fight in the arena! He had beaten Sky Lark!

 _You beat him because he insulted Weiss before you two had your big blow up._

This time he didn't get angry at the voice. Because he begrudgingly knew it was right.

He remembered how he had been near beaten when the bastard had uttered those words that'd filled him with so much anger at the time.

" _Heard you rejected that Schnee bitch under the tree the other day, Arc! Never thought you had the balls, apparently she looked ready to cry after you did it and walked off! Bet you felt like the big man after you did that. Made you feel all proud to reject that skinny little princess. Too bad you're still a pathetic little wimp playing hero, you'll never beat_ real _huntsman like me. Props for taking down that snobby bitch a peg or two at least, maybe I'll have a crack at h-"_

He hadn't had much chance to finish his words as Jaune had delivered a devastating punch and beaten him.

 _What would have happened if he hadn't been all cocky though? What would have happened if he still treated you like a threat and managed to block or dodge that hit?_

He'd have been easily defeated…

Was… was Coco right?

"Two;…" the words seemed to catch in her throat as she looked at him with sad eyes that he could tell weren't from him... these held a different pain than before. "Please… Please don't hate me… I only wanted to help you, this was the only way I knew how. I needed to make you angry enough so you could see for yourself what you're doing to yourself... it was the only thing that came to mind..." she said, suddenly dragging herself up and him with her, her arms suddenly wrapping around him in a tight and shaking embrace. It was so out of place for the girl to act so weak that he momentarily froze, allowing her semblance to rid him of his anger… only letting a sad whimper as his pain flowed right back. Things he didn't want to think about, yet didn't have the mental power to hold it off or the anger to ignore it. "You _are_ my friend, Jaune. Never forget it. You matter to me and your pain hurts me in more than just my semblance. I care about helping you and will do my damn best to help you. I promise you. So, please... please don't hate me"

 _She… she did all this to help me… didn't she?_ He asked himself, hands beginning to shake as his mind fought with his body as to what he should do. _She risked me hating her to prove to me that I was putting myself at risk… I wouldn't have listened… would I? Gods I'm such an idiot..._

His lips wouldn't move. His head wouldn't turn. So instead he brought his tired arms to gently wrap around her back and brought her close. Letting her briefly startle from the contact before she gripped him tighter.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Coco holding him tightly and him doing the same to her.

It ended with a simple uttering of two words from him.

"Thank you"

With a smile, she'd pulled away from him, casually wiping at her eyes as they darted over to an incredibly worried and nervous looking Pyrrha and Velvet. He'd followed her gaze and looked at the two much more softly than before…

"I take It she told you two to not interrupt her?" he said with a whisper of his old smile as they both nodded at them.

He moved his tired body forward suddenly and enveloped them both in his arms, whispering his thanks to them and apologising to him as he did. They, in turn, hurriedly apologised to him and asked him if they were still his friends.

With a smile, he answered "'Course we are! Wouldn't have it any other way"

After that, things had gotten a lot happier.

He had learned that Velvet had been to one to cushion his fall, and he had sheepishly apologised after making sure she was okay. Yatsuhashi had formally apologised to him, to which he had smiled and surprised him with a smack on the shoulder and a grin of victory to which the giant had simply chuckled and shook his now extended hand.

As soon as Coco and him had their emotions under control, and he'd recovered from his apparent attempt to completely exhaust himself, Coco had told him that since he'd failed to hit Yatsu during the spar, he was to run those laps with Velvet to which he had grimaced but complied.

She had gone out of her way and risked her friendship with him, to help him. A little torture at having run fifty laps with Velvet and then sitting through a talk about an intense regime and dietary plan put together by Coco and Pyrrha for him. While he would miss his bacon and Pumpkin Pete's… he would do it.

For the people he now knew… were truly great friends.

* * *

" _I said in the message that I liked you more than anyone I'd ever met, that you were my first crush, that I wanted to hold your hand and take you down to the park to enjoy a picnic this weekend" Jaune said with a smile, blood pouring down his face as Weiss watched in silent horror. Then, in a body not her own and with a manic smile, she drew forth a blade and pulled it across his throat before kicking him off the rood she stood on. A blissful smile on his face all the while as his body flew to the rocks below, to smash to pieces on them as all the one's she'd been forced to see before it._

 _This had seemingly gone on for hours, though due to the state of what she now knew was a nightmare it could have been mere minutes, she would listen to Jaune tell her what was in that letter and message before she would… she would…_

 _She didn't seem able to wake up, only watch in silent terror as yet another Jaune looked at her and smiled, his skin lacerated and bloody from knife wounds._

" _In the message was a letter saying I knew about your pain, that I grew up in a family full of expectations and that I just wanted you to no longer feel alone. That I just wanted to see you smile a true smile"_

 _Cut. Push._

" _I wrote you a song saying how I'd always try to bring you happiness and unfreeze your frozen heart"_

 _Cut. Push._

" _I said that I cared about how you don't feel like you're perfect. How you'll never be able to be as good as Winter or ever be able to make your father say some kind words to you, of how proud he is of you. That your scar makes you damaged. I just wanted you to know that all those flaws you see mean nothing to me, because they aren't flaws. They're what makes you, you. That's all I ever cared about"_

 _Cut. Push._

" _I said that I loved you"_

 _Cut. Push-_

 _In an instant, this Jaune seemed to change to pace of her fearful, terror inducing nightmare. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her waist and his head resting on her own._

 _As his body touched hers, so too did his wounds heal. The blood evaporating and his skin healing till he looked like he always did. Even that silly smile was back in place._

" _I said that I loved you, Weiss. That wealth and status and money meant nothing to me, so long as I could be with you, then that was all that mattered" he said in a sad tone as her hands moved to wrap around him, though if she had suddenly gained control of her body or if this was her nightmare self once again… she couldn't tell. "I didn't even know who you were that day I met you, I was just so nervous I ended up pulling that stupid stunt to try and impress you… You were just an angel of snow that lit up my world and made my heart beat faster than I ever thought it would. That was all, Weiss. I never wanted more than your love"_

 _His words hit home, though they didn't bring the same pain she expected as before. No… no instead they brought an odd warmth to her chest and her arms wrapped around him tighter and her head pressed into his chest. Her pain momentarily forgotten as her mind sought the comfort he seemed to bring._

" _But"_

 _With that the world shifted, and she opened her eyes and let out a silent scream at the sight._

 _Jaune was on his knees, blade in his neck and all the blood, gore and wounds back in place and worse than ever as smiled at her._

" _You hate me. You told me to kill myself. So, there's no way you could love me back. Might as well just… die" he grinned, slipping off the blade with a kick of his feet and falling to the rocks below like all the others._

With a startled gasp, Weiss awoke on her desk, text books and pens flying as she violently flung her head back.

Fear in her eyes and tears streaming down her face as she gasped for air despite her quivering lips and hiccupping throat doing their best to stop her. Ruby and Blake weren't here now. Blake was off with Xiao Long and Ruby had gone to get them some dinner at her asking.

She had no help to comfort her, nor did she have the warmth of people to help calm her down. Yet she reacted far less than last time, she wasn't screaming or thrashing about like a wild animal.

No. She simply sat there and forced her body to still and the panicked beat in her chest to slow, scrunching her eyes shut and forced her breathing to calm.

Why was she having these horrid nightmares again? Why did his face bring so much pain to her, whenever she saw him in either her mind or in real life? She didn't care about him! She didn't and she never would again! So... Why did she feel so relieved after waking up and her mind seemed to fully convince itself that he was okay?

After ten solid minutes of this, she managed it. Her body finally relaxing and her eyes no longer streaming with tears that made her face itch.

She had calmed down and simply stared at the window to outside. It was raining… not too heavily but just enough to create the gentle pitter patter on the glass. It had always helped her fall asleep, the sound of rain, and with her emotions all over the place and not getting a good nights sleep she must have dozed off during her studying.

It wasn't like her and she would have gotten angry at herself if she could find the will to be so.

Instead she let out a suffering sigh and stood herself up. She needed to get his face out of her head. She needed to stop thinking about what was in that message he left her, or she wouldn't be sleeping tonight... Making her way to the bathroom, to clean her face up, she passed the door just in time to hear the footsteps of four, maybe five, people coming down the hall. It didn't bother her much, it was usually uncommon to not hear someone walking down their halls at this time of evening.

What caught her attention, however, was the voices themselves.

One voice in particular caught it, and it sent a sliver of ice down her spine.

"Thanks for the help with my stamina, Velvet, darn near killed me but I think I may no longer be the least fit guy in Beacon if we keep it up" came the voice of the boy she had just watched die countless times. She wasn't sure when she got to the door, nor when she leaned against it, but she felt as if she was still not in control of her body once more and it had simply been drawn to the boy she had screamed at yesterday. To the voice of the boy she had screamed at moments ago to stop her, to take the blade away and let her help him.

"No problem, Jaune… I… I just wish that-" the _Faunus_ girl was interrupted as the boy let out a pleasant laugh.

"It's okay, Velvet… you guys helped me out… I needed to hear what you had to say" his reply was both happy and pleasant, yet hid a sadness she had never heard from the boy... Not that it mattered in the slightest to her. His sadness was just a façade to make others feel guilty!

"You heard him, Velv!" came a loud and powerful voice that radiated confidence. "He says it's okay and the kid doesn't seem the type to lie, so I think we're all good! Besides, think he got a nice view as he ran behind you~"

"C-Coco!" That same Faunus screeched, Weiss feeling her nails dig into the door in an anger she couldn't seem to place.

"Whaaat? You got a nice ass!" the confident voice laughed, Weiss hearing the grumbling of two voices that belonged to one she _hated_ and another that brought that same burning anger to her chest that she couldn't quite understand. "Besides, he's kinda crap at hiding his anger, so if he was still pissed at us, we'd know... Sorry again, Kid"

 _What is she going on about?_

"Agreed… while I don't agree with your methods entirely… they produce good results" came the overly polite voice of none other than Pyrrha, followed by an agreeing grunt of a man so deep she could have mistaken him for an Ursa. "I greatly enjoy your company Coco, Velvet and Yatsuhashi and I thank you for helping my friend and partner, so I think we are indeed still friends" her voice sounded… happier than usual. A musical touch to her voice.

 _Why would he need help from second years? Trying to make himself into a less worthless hunter? Hah! good luck_ she thought spitefully, completely ignoring the once more building sensations of both pain and warmth in her chest.

"Sweet! Thanks red! You too, Kid!"

"Th-thank you, Pyrrha, Jaune"

And a humorous chuckle were the responses to that.

"Well, now that we've escorted you both home, I think we'll take our leave! Lots of crappy emotions tonight so I need some joy in the form of _shopping~!_ See you back at the room, Velv! Enjoy your little talk with Jaune! C'mon big guy! These two need their space _"_ came the voice of what must have been Coco Adel as her footsteps danced down the hall, followed by oddly quiet steps of what must have been the deeply voiced man from before.

"Talk? What does she mean?" came the boys voice, oddly clear now that it wasn't choking on blood.

"I- I umm… I just needed to talk to you" came the girls reply, nervous and stuttering all the while.

"I'll be inside, tonight has left me feeling a little drained" Pyrrha's voice spoke up, full of understanding as to whatever the Faunus wanted, the quiet opening and shutting of a door was all that followed, alongside the awkward shuffling of feet as the silence reigned over the hallway.

It was broken by something she may have found comical under completely different circumstances. If it wasn't _him_.

"Jaune, I-"

"Velvet, I-"

Came both their replies, followed by a short period of more silence before the girl once more spoke up.

"Jaune… I'm so sorry for what happened tonight. I-I thought… it would go so differently and… yet all it did was nearly end so badly" she said with an obvious pain in her timid voice. "I just wanted you to know how sorry I am again… I wanted to prove I meant it"

"Hey, don't worry" came his oddly soothing voice. "I know tonight was… it wasn't what I thought it would be, but I liked the way it ended, though running laps with you was… well it was hard. I swear my legs are going to be so numb tomorrow!" his words drew a small giggle from the girl and Weiss moved to pull her shirt away from her chest as she felt it begin to slightly constrict her chest.

"Still… I feel bad and I want to make it up to you" she said, her voice sounding far happier and more determined than before. That was washed away when she let out an "Eep!" as Weiss heard the shuffling of fabric on fabric and a small step making it clear he had embraced her.

As this happened, Weiss felt an odd feeling begin to worm its' way into her. It felt like anger, though more directed and almost petty feeling and confused her as she felt her chest tighten ever so slightly at the boys next words.

"Tell you what. We'll call the hug as part of you making it up to me and you can buy me a coke-float, shaken not stirred, 'reckon that'll do Miss Scarlatina?" he said in a pathetically bad version of the girls accent. So why did it make that tightness increase when the girl let out an open laugh and a continuing giggle at his words? Why did she feel angry at how happy she sounded?

"Well. I suppose it's a date Mr Bond" she said with a confidence and a laugh she didn't expect from the meek voice from before. The girl let out a hum as more fabric rustled.

"Thanks for being there for me, Velvet" his voice was oddly relaxed and happy from when he had spoken to her.

 _What makes her so speci-_ Weiss caught herself before she could finish that train of though. Where had it come from?

"And thank you for doing the same for me" a buzzing sound penetrated through her door as the girl seemed to answer a text, if the tapping noises were anything to go by, and let out a sigh. "Coco is apparently setting up a movie while she shops so I need to get back before she chooses a horror" she groaned, and she heard the boy laugh through the door in his irritating way.

"Good luck! Beware, I heard they released a new 'nightmare on Oak street!'" the boy shouted as the thunderous and panicked footsteps of the girl ran down the hall, with another "eep!" following her.

With another laugh, the boy entered his room with the opening and closing of his door.

Weiss stood there for a long time, her expression unreadable but her mind a storm of thoughts and feeling she wasn't sure what to do with.

That was until she was once again alerted to the sound of footsteps, though they were very distinct and Weiss knew them well. Moving away from the door and back to her desk, Weiss sat back in her chair just as the door was opened to reveal Ruby Rose with two plates in her hands and cutlery and napkins in her pockets.

"Hey Weiss! I got your salad for yo-hey, what's wrong?" she asked. Weiss was initially taken aback as to how she could have guessed her mood until she saw her reflection in the window glass and realised her face was set into a deep scowl.

 _Am I becoming that bad at hiding my emotions?... If so, why do I look so angry? I'm just upset over my nightmare after all_ she wondered as she turned to face Ruby with as good a smile as she could manage.

She knew there was no point in trying to lie to her partner, not with her emotions so open to the world, nor with how persistent Ruby could get when she knew someone was lying to her. That didn't mean she had to tell the whole truth though.

"I… I had another nightmare, Ruby. I fell asleep at my desk to the sound of the rain and just woke up from it, it wasn't as bad as last night, don't worry. Though… I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay with you" she said, the girl looking worried for a moment before she seemed catch herself and smiled that same smile she always had, so full of sunshine and happiness.

"No problem, Weiss. What're friends good for if they don't listen to their friends?" she grinned, popping down her salad next to her, while tucking into her plate of pasta, with a generous helping of cookies and milk at the side. The girl now sitting at her desk, going over her own work and humming a gentle hum all the while.

Weiss smiled at her friend happily, the pain and fear from earlier momentarily forgotten as she did. She was glad she wasn't going to push it and just let her be, Weiss would talk to her if she needed to and Ruby knew that.

 _Hmm… I'm glad to have a friend like you Ruby Rose._

 **Heh… gods this was hard to write.**

 **Enjoy a** _ **very**_ **long chapter folks, and I hope you all look forward to the next one as I plan to do the next chapter of the song of her heart before Pink lemonade as both an apology for how long it's been and because even I am sick of waiting for me to get to Forever Fall! XD**

 **Not to worry though, pink lemonade fans as I already know** _ **exactly**_ **what will be going down and let's just say, Roman is about to introduce himself to his nieces new boyfriend.**


	14. Fun times before the storm

**_EDITED_**

 **The song of her heart**

 **Chapter 14**

 **Fun times before the storm**

 **Just gonna make this clear, this opening segment is meant to be light hearted and funny as will the second segment. They are not be taken too seriously, but not going into the realms of absurdity.**

 **But I will make clear that in certain scenes, the way Weiss acts, though it may seem OOC, in my opinion is fairly accurate. Keep in mind what Blake was like when she was sleep deprived and mentally stressed… though the key difference is that Weiss is not doing this to herself voluntarily and what she sees when she** _ **does**_ **manage to sleep will not be helping either.**

The week had been long and hard for Jaune. Between Coco, Velvet and Yastuhashi, with the ever elusive 'Fox' still not making a show, working him until he felt like he was going to drop and then some. Though he had to admit that he could already see the improvement, his stance was far sturdier and more nimble, being able to not only avoid his giant trainers' boulder sized fists, but also able to survive about a minute of Velvet. It wasn't an understatement to say that Velvet packed some killer kicks and she seemed to lose all trace of her sweet and shy nature in favour of becoming a one-woman army.

It had been adorable that whenever she had knocked him right on his butt, she had immediately lost her imposing persona and had rushed to his side. She was apparently the appointed medic of Team CFVY and so was trained to deal with severe lacerations and broken bones, down to boo-boo's and cuts.

Coco had also been helping him with his anger issues, which entailed her insulting every single thing he disliked about himself and those he didn't realise he did, alongside effectively insulting every single person, minus herself, Velvet and Yatsuhashi, he knew. It was simple, all he had to do was not react negatively to anything she said, all he had to do was refuse to let his anger take hold and remind himself that she didn't mean any of it… that had apparently been easier said than done and he had repeatedly lost his temper at either the mentioning of his family or… the one time he had actually manged to last a full half-hour, Coco had brought out the big guns and brought up someone she knew would get a reaction out of him… suffice to say he had ended up flat on his butt in mere seconds as him standing up to tell her to shut up had resulted in her kicking his legs out from underneath him and pressing him to the floor painfully due to her knee being pressed into his solar plexus.

Surprisingly, he had made progress and had actually managed to do quite well by Thursday evening, not even reacting to Coco's taunts and aggressive shouting and screaming in his face of how useless he was, it had gotten even better when she had attempted to try and insult him with the last person he wanted to think about but had ended up going a little red when he had laughed and said she wasn't going to get a rise out of him. She had proudly smacked her hand into his shoulder and grinned at him before promptly kicking him to the ground and grinned cockily.

"Don't get too cocky there, kid, girls like confidence and a bit of guys who can keep their cool. Ultimate turn off when the guy starts to take it to far though, just stay your adorably dorky self and you'll do just fine" had been her words, once again hinting at him being with someone like that…

It had never seemed to click with her that he was being entirely genuine when he told her he honestly didn't want to be with someone at the moment, and probably for a long time. He just wanted to get away from romance all together and just try and forget what his first real pursuit of romance had led to. That hadn't stopped Coco constantly pestering him for info on what was his type beyond; small, bitchy and tiny tits. It had both made him scowl and blush at her, to which she had genuinely apologised for, before grinning at his blush and pressing further on with her questions.

She had actually tried to convince him to try and flirt with a girl once, only for her to sneer at him and walk off before he could open his mouth to say hi. He hadn't exactly been desperate to stop Coco, when she smacked her dust infused handbag into the girl and sent her flying into the fountain.

Pyrrha had been even more helpful than usual, doing her best to teach him a technique which involved him using his sword in a two-handed, sideways, stance. It started by allowing his opponent to thrust or slash directly at him, to which he would, narrowly, avoid the strike and slam his shoulder into their chest before swinging his sword into their, now unprotected, side as they flew back from the impact.

It had brought no small amount of pride to him as he had actually manged to slightly wind Yatsuhashi thanks in part due to him having worn his armour at the time.

Speaking of Pyrrha, he'd invited her to come with him, Coco and Velvet but she had unfortunately had to decline as she apparently had work she needed to do and she didn't want to risk being behind in her work when it came to Professor Goodwitch. Honestly he couldn't blame her. That woman terrified him.

He hadn't seen any sign of Yang or Weiss all week, which had been no small amount of relief. He had still been able to speak to Ruby and he was glad this whole horrible situation hadn't affected their friendship too much. It had been a little bit of a strain on her to have to bounce between him and her team, so he had always made sure to make it clear he didn't mind if she didn't have much time for him.

It really shouldn't have surprised him when she had sent him a half-hearted glare and made it clear she wasn't going to abandon her friends. It _had_ however brought a pleasant smile to his face as they settled down to play Immortal Fighter.

It had been a welcome distraction from all the… less pleasant things that had gone on.

Like when he had accidentally walked in on a lone Nora Friday evening, upon coming back to grab his training gear for the night, and seen her curled up into a ball on her bed with tears pouring down her face while he could hear and see her watching a video she had recorded of her running around him and the rest of the team. She had been happily telling another of her stories, this one about her and Ren taking down a giant Grimm Wyvern and using the scales to build the biggest tree house in the world.

It… It had heart breaking to see.

To see the girl, who he _still_ hadn't been able to bring himself to talk to, who usually lit up a room with her smile and could make even Miss Goodwitch crack the faintest of smiles whenever she got on with one of her stories. To see her look so empty and broken, it honestly made his heart hurt.

He had been trapped as well.

The second he entered the room and froze upon seeing her, she too looked up at him with those red eyes that seemed to widen incomprehensibly, before slamming shut as she made to stand up.

On instinct he'd moved to grab her, to hug her close and wish away all her tears and pain. But the thing about instinct is that it can be, if the mind is of a strong enough will, overridden.

It was why he'd stopped. It was why he didn't move to stop her as she ran by, hearing her choke out a quick 'I'm sorry' before she disappeared down the hall.

He hadn't slept well that night. Frankly the fact he'd slept at all had shocked him more than a little, he had still put on a brave face for Coco and Velvet when he met them on the Saturday morning.

He was not surprised when Coco had seen right through him and immediately demanded to know what had happened and if he was okay. He knew it was near pointless to even _attempt_ to try and say he was okay, so he had simply sighed and explained as to why he was not in the best of moods but was honest in saying he wasn't going to let it bother him.

Coco had told him that she was glad he hadn't tried to talk to her while she was like that, but had made it clear that he should try and at least talk to her at _some_ point, that what had happened was clearly affecting her as badly as it was him. She'd also warned him to do it soon so nothing like what had happened between him and... _Weiss,_ happened again. He had agreed, though not with a small internal groan at how if he had been braver and tried to talk it out with Nora, things could possibly be already on the right track. He thought that he could possibly talk to her that night? He was… he was no where near as angry at her he had been. Coco's lessons in controlling his anger had helped a lot in the way of him being able to think more clearly.

Nora _was_ in the wrong. There was no denying that. But it didn't mean she deserved to suffer like he had, to constantly feel like an outcast, like Ren hated her… like _he_ hated her… but… then again, he may as well have said he did… he literally told her he wished he'd never met her in anger… Gods… he'd caused all her pain hadn't he? A dark pit had opened up in his stomach at that thought. Poor Nora, she was the kind of girl who felt things deeper than others and what was going on must have been hitting her even harder than himself...

He would bring it up with Pyrrha tonight and see what she thought, though he had the distinct feeling she would happily agree, maybe he could make her pancakes?

Velvet had been more like a worried mother, and had offered to try and talk to her, to try and see if she could help in any way and maybe she could give Jaune an idea on what to say to her if he talked to her.

Despite her good intentions, Jaune had declined, he knew Nora gave off the aura of someone who would happily agree to be anyone's friend, but she actually struggled to actually _trust_ in people to the level she trusted in her team and even then, he imagined no one would ever get to the trust she had in Ren. She would just say she was okay before excusing herself as quickly as she could, Plus, Velvet didn't seem the type to constantly chase after Nora to find out what was wrong… she was far too nervous and shy to do that.

With the raising of her voice, Coco had practically ordered them to forget about all the 'sad stuff' and cheer up. Apparently he was going to need all the cheer he could muster if he was going to survive her critical eye in the clothing department.

He had smiled at her, saying she couldn't be _that_ bad, that he'd grown up with seven sisters and there was nothing she could do to faze him. At the time he hadn't been aware he had effectively been challenging the chocolate coloured girl, or noticed that Velvet had been frantically making a 'STOP' motion with her hands behind her girlfriend. Said girlfriend had simply cocked an eyebrow at him and levelled that challenging stare at him.

Which had led him to currently begging to be released from the hell he had found himself in, as Coco placed _another_ coat in his tired and aching arms... This one was apparently charcoal black with eggshell white accents, instead of the one before that was apparently smoky black with rose white accents.

Could he tell the difference? _Nope!_ Unfortunately, he did suppose he deserved this after he had poked the metaphorical Ursa. What annoyed him most of all was the fact that, while he was useless when it came to men's clothing, he was apparently a Guru when it concerned female attire. He didn't know an Armani from a Guchi, but he knew what worked and what didn't, and he'd been personally responsible for half his sister's attires… though the fact it had effectively been forced upon him to become his sisters' personal fashion designer, was not forgotten.

He _used_ to think he had a good sense of male fashion… Well he still thought his hoodie was cool, but apparently going to a combat school in civilian clothes and patchwork armour he'd scavenged together from the cheapest blacksmith he could find, was a pretty bad idea.

He had observed, during the many chances he got to watch his classmates spar, was that it seemed most hunters and huntresses tired to wear clothes that stood out. Like they wanted to be seen, to be noticed by everyone and announce themselves for what they were… It was almost like it was instilled into the heads of every kid who wanted to be a huntsman that, to be seen by the masses, to be that light in the darkness… it made a lot of sense when he thought about it…Maybe that was why Coco had initially had the idea to have him wear a coat with golden strips of silk running free from the bottom.

It didn't mean his arms were any less tired, however. Or that his feet felt any less pained and begging to be allowed to rest.

"Right. Try that on with the baby blue, long sleeve with the ebony buttons alongside those toughened, dark blue jeans and those calf brown combat boots with the burnt umber soles and toes and the single belt with the loop and clip to hold that museum piece you call a weapon and I'll give my opinion on whether you pass or not" she all but ordered him, but her attention was fully grabbed when Jaune simply stood at her and looked at her as if she was mad... he understood about _zero_ of the words she'd told him and apparently it was clear on his face.

With a grumble and an exasperated sigh, Coco grabbed the clothes she had been speaking of and threw them into his arms and shoving him towards the changing rooms, before going off to check out some clothing brand he wasn't even going to try and pronounce.

Shooting a pleading look for aid from Velvet, the girl showed an uncharacteristic cruelty as she raised an eyebrow at him and made it clear he wouldn't receiving any help from her. "I tried to stop you, you've only got yourself to blame. Now get going before she starts to get annoyed… you don't want to see an annoyed Coco on a shopping spree" warning received and fully taken in, Jaune dived into the changing room and began to change.

Five minutes later, he emerged to see the hopeful look on Velvet's face, while Coco's was unnaturally focused as she stared at him.

He had gone with leaving the coat open to show off the shirt beneath, which he had left untucked at the front and his chest plate was above it, yet beneath the coat. The coat itself went down to about his calves and curled around his body till the two ends of the bottom of the coat were nearly touching when he stood still. He honestly liked the look of it and, apparently, Coco also approved if the way she nodded her head ever so slightly when her eyes looked at it.

"Hrmmm…" she mumbled, walking up to him and walking around him, poking at areas he tried not to yelp about, and lifted up his arms and the coat itself to see what he had chosen to do with what she had given to him.

Apparently she hated the idea of his shirt being half tucked in and had brought an intense blush to his face as she thrust the shirt down his trousers and smoothed it out in way the reminded him, in a frankly scary way, of his mom and sisters when they'd tried to force him to change his style as kid… well… except when his sisters tried to make him wear their dresses…

Once her embarrassing work was done, Coco smiled and stood up and appeared that she might actually, approve of his outfit! Was this torture _finally_ over!?

The way she suddenly frowned destroyed any hope he had.

"Nope. Still missing something… something to pull off the whole thing… maybe a different colour? Or… maybe something to add? Whadda you think, babe?" she asked the actually apologetic looking Velvet, who looked like a deer in headlights at her question.

"I… erm… well… I think maybe the-"

"If you dare suggest he wears that _hideous_ white hood, I swear I will take away your cook book" Coco growled, waggling her finger threateningly at her Velvet.

The girl actually looked afraid as she stared at Coco with wide eyes full of terror. "Okay, okay, okay! I… I have nothing, I prefer more earthy browns and brilliant golds… This isn't really my area of expertise… Ooo! I could take a few pictures of other students with his colour pallet, so you can compare and maybe try a few things? I have been wanting to try and take some more showy shots anyway!" the utter cheer and excitement in her voice brought smiles to both his and Coco's faces as the Faunus began to look around excitedly for any people that could catch her eye.

He really enjoyed moments like this… they made it seem like there was nothing wrong at all… that he was simply enjoying a great day out with his friends… and frankly that _was_ what he was doing. He _was_ having a nice day out. He _was_ enjoying spending time with his friends. He _was_ able to almost simply forget about all the problems that were plaguing his mind.

 _You don't deserve to push these thoughts away. You're pathetic. You've caused so many problems…_

Shaking his head to banish those dark thoughts, Jaune instead chose to focus on the sight of Velvet, after somehow managing to lose her shy nature, zipping between huntsman who happily posed for pictures with big grins and flashy poses.

A sigh from Coco, brought him back to reality as she pressed her index and thumb into her forehead.

"Just what the hell am I missing? Everything suits you just fine, but… I dunno it's almost like there's a key part of the whole ensemble that needs to be there to make it work, but I can't tell what. You're lucky you're my friend, kid. I wouldn't usually go through this much of a headache inducing problem, but you've grown on me. Besides… you're my pack-mule for the day after this" she grinned evilly and seemingly loved the way he paled slightly at her words. With a click of her tongue, she grabbed what looked like an armour lined dress shirt, with a light blue colour and held it up against him.

"Nah, the other looks good on you… urgh! Why do you have to be so awkward! It's like you just _want_ to make my life hell-don't you dare get all mopey on me buster! I see that aura of yours going dark!" she growled, though the smile on her face was obvious and he couldn't help but grin, and then immediately, possibly drop himself in the deep end.

"Would… uh… well, I'm apparently kinda terrible when it comes to guys fashion, but… I'm great when it comes to female fashion. Remember, I have seven sisters I helped to pick out clothes, you can see them yourself if you don't believe me" he passed her his scroll and she immediately flicked through a small portfolio of his sister's in clothes he had helped them pick out over video calls on their phones. With an approving raise of her eyebrows and a mildly shocked look to her, she passed him back his scroll and motioned for him to continue. "Maybe… Maybe I could try and, I dunno, imagine myself as a girl and think of something?" he near mumbled, watching as Coco's face, first froze completely still, then began to faze through about a hundred different emotions before settling on her laughing out loud.

"Ha! You think you can just _pretend_ to be a girl? Like you can just have an image of a female you that you can throw hundreds of different designs a-… oh… Oh my gods that is brilliant!" she cried, drawing more than a few peoples' gazes as she charged towards Velvet with a cry of "Velvet! Get your beautiful ass over here! Kid just came up with how I'm gonna try on new fashion _without_ all the mess of going out~!"

Thusly she dragged the startled Faunus over to him and began to excitedly demand he re-tell Velvet what he had told her.

Despite being a little dumbfounded at seeing the usually cool and in control Coco Adel acting like a kid in a candy shop, Jaune did as he was told and explained his weird little idea to Velvet, whose expression was, at first, completely confused and she looked at Coco like she was mad, until it seemed to click and she too, began to look incredibly excited.

"Okay, would you mind explaining why my weird idea has you guys looking so happy? I'm more than a little confused here" he said with a weary look to him, memories of his sisters when they found out about his 'gift' flashing to the forefront of his mind... oh gods, he was screwed wasn't he?

"Oh, well you see, my semblance is mimicry" Velvet said with a proud smile, thought it was lessened by the fact she began to shyly poke her two index fingers together. "I can copy someone's fighting style and make it like I've been trained in it my entire life, so long as I can manage to get enough 'data' on them and have had the chance to at least see them fight. But I've… well I've been working on something to make it so I can also _use_ their weapons…" the more she spoke, the more her excitement seemed to die down, her long ears beginning to droop and her entire body seeming hunch in on itself. "But… it's not that good right now, I can make clones of weapons and stuff, but they break apart really easily, I haven't been able to make them strong enough to withstand combat yet" she actually looked pretty upset at her own words, and it pained Jaune to see her like it.

"Hey, that's honestly an awesome ability, I mean, seriously? That means you could fight on par with hunters twice your age if you saw them fight! That's incredible!" he smiled at her warmly, Coco moving behind her and wrapping her in a hug while pressing her head into her neck and mumbling something into Velvet's primary ear. It seemed to perk the girl up who looked a little better as she smiled at them both weakly. "Besides, I doubt Coco would be _this_ excited if she didn't think you'll be able to do something really cool to help us" he said, looking at Coco who took his cue in stride and released her hold on Velvet to walk in front of her and thrust a finger towards her.

"You, my dear and beautiful girlfriend, are going to use your _amazing_ semblance to make us a girl Jaune! You can use that weird dust your camera uses, seriously the stuff looks like freaking starlight, to make a 3d model of what you and your critical eye think would be him as a girl! Apparently, the kid is a wiz when it comes to female fashion, saw so myself, so he can try out different ideas with me and you can bring our ideas to life! Even you can't say that your semblance doesn't rock when it can do something I could only dream of"

"But… Coco… that'll be pretty hard to do since I need to have first taken at least a full view picture of what I want to try and create" Velvet tried to explain, her words coming out a little awkward as she tried to lessen the impact they would likely have on her girlfriends' good mood.

"That. My little bunny" Coco steadfastly ignored the indignant look Velvet gave her behind her massive blush. "Is where I come in, I designed my own, and half of the girls in the second year including your own, clothes. I wouldn't get very far if I couldn't draw the ' _female figure'_ to draw the clothes onto, now could I? With your artsy brain and the kid putting in little tid-bits on what his sister's look like-" Jaune still took pride in how their jaws had hit the floor when he had mentioned the fact he was the brother to seven sisters. _What would they think of their brother now that he's a piece of shit who hurts those close to him so badly?_ –"we can come up with a perfect model for your magic camera!" she grinned proudly and produced a pencil and pad from a secondary bag on the back of her belt and began to frantically sketch out a basic female figure with Jaune's input that the Arc woman were a little shorter than the men, and that they all tended to either wear their hair in different styles of buns or long and flowing down their backs.

After a few minutes, 'she' was done.

Despite the fact 'she' had mildly muscular arms and powerful looking legs, about the same level of Pyrrha, 'she' had a more slender and sleek frame compared to himself. Though with wide hips that Coco had refused to budge on, saying that if his mom could handle eight kids then her hips must be built for it. Apparently, she imagined a female Jaune, which she had nicknamed Joanne, would take after his mom in that regard.

Her facial features were more sleek and her chin more tapered with her cheeks slightly more pronounced than his own, though Coco had perfectly captured his trademark awkward smile and slightly nervous look in his eyes making it clear who this gender-swap was meant to be.

She also had a moderate bust that Jaune somehow felt little embarrassment over. He quickly realised that being a brother to a clan of seven, blue eyed, blonde haired sisters had desensitised him to finding what could have been his twin as sexual in any way, shape or form.

Velvet brought up the idea that 'her' hair would be a combination of the two, a long braid going down their back to about the middle of the shoulder-blades. And that she would have a half fringe that would dip down to about eye level, before joining the main head of hair.

After a few more minutes of minor changes and the adding of a side and rear view, so Velvet could create a 3d model, she was completed.

A few choice snaps later, Velvet was ready, seemingly having gotten a little bit of her confidence back now that she had seen Coco and himself so excited to see her semblance. The only problem came, when an employee seemed to have finally gotten annoyed enough at them to try and tell them to leave.

"Hah. Might wanna check behind the counter their buddy. There's a, well, _quite_ unique picture there that I think you might wanna take a look at" Coco grinned, pointing towards what looked like a family portrait with a sleek and gentlemanly looking man with a very happy smile on his face. His appearance seemed to be all about the colour white. Pale, yet nearly flawless, skin. Naturally white hair that was full of volume and life, even his eyes were crystalline white and shone with a hidden mirth, like he was in on a hilarious joke no one else knew about. Dressed in a, naturally white, suit that must have cost a veritable fortune and a very expensive pocket watch on display as his one arm wrapped around the waste of a beautiful woman who was his near polar opposite as she seemed to focus entirely on blacks and browns. With flowing waves of black hair that slowly turned to brown as it reached the very ends of each strand, the woman had tanned skin, almost golden in colour, that paired nicely with her pitch-black eyes and chocolate brown lips that seemed used to being set in a pleasant and warm smile. She wore a figure hugging dress that started strapless, low cut just above her breasts and flowing down her body till it reached the floor where it splayed out like waves crashing upon beach.

What caught his attention the most however, not accounting for the fact the man was armed with a sniper rifle, who's size alone put crescent rose to shame, and the woman was wielding a shockingly deadly looking missile launcher with a rather murderous, if elegant, looking sword on her back. No, what caught his attention the most was the fact that, upon the mans' shoulders and holding the one hand of the woman, was someone Jaune knew at even a glance.

There, with her cocky smile in place, even at what must have been such a young age, was one Coco Adel. Sunglasses, caramel dye in her hair, what must have been the most expensive children's dress on Remnant and toy bunny in hand made it clear that it could have been none other than the infamous fashionista herself.

Beneath the picture itself, was what appeared to be the names of the three people; Lait Adel, Coffee Adel and of course, Coco herself. Beneath _that_ was a motto that he couldn't make out, yet Coco recited perfectly.

" 'It is a huntsman and Huntress's duty to protect the world, but that doesn't mean they can't look good while doing it' that's about right, if I'm correct?" she said with her cocky grin going full Cheshire. It was clear to every customer in the store, just _who_ the employee had just tried to kick out of their store.

Apparently, the employee realised as well, if the paling of his skin and the sweat that seemed to break out on his forehead on seeing her unimpressed look, was anything to go by.

The man had near screamed his apologies, begging for her to let him keep his job, to which Coco had taken far longer than he thought was necessary to give an answer to. In the end, Coco had smiled and said she might have been willing to forgive him if he let her have free use of the back room for as long as she wanted, and for her friend (aka Jaune himself) to get 70% off everything he brought.

Nodding at a frantic pace, the man had let them into the back room which, for all intensive purposes, looked like a showroom for new clothing styles. With seats all around and a stage in the centre with room enough for more than one person to stand on, lights shining down onto it from all angles.

Plopping down in her seat, Coco clapped her hands and all the lights around the edges of the room dimmed, leaving only the centre stage lit up properly.

"Right then, let's see if we can't make you a star!" she laughed, clapping her hands together again as Velvet fiddled with the camera in her hands, before taking aim right at the stage. Her mood had improved greatly upon seeing his utter surprise at how she had taken him to what was _her_ shop.

"Right… ermm… I'm afraid it won't be in colour but I'll do my best to bring what you think will work to life, I can make small modifications to anything you think of, though it would be easier if you could grab that item to show to me, so I can add it to my existing pictures- if that's not too much trouble!" Velvet said without need as Jaune and Coco shared a look and smiled at the Faunus's antics.

"Hey, whatever makes your life easier is fine with me Velvet, besides, I know this will be awesome" Jaune smiled, watching as the girl perked up a little and shot them both a small grin, as Coco took her turn to speak.

"Agreed, babe, I've seen you fiddling with that thing and it can make things practically lifelike! Now c'mon! I know your gadget will be more than fine for what we need" She grinned, surprising Jaune a little at the amount of pride, both in Coco's words and in the growing smile on Velvets' face, came out there.

"You know what, I think you're both right!" Velvet smiled, her voice full of the same pride as she tapped her case attached by a cord to her camera proudly, it glowing a faint blue that quickly disappeared. "Let's see if I can't create myself a model! Oh, and I know what you're thinking Coco, this dust is expensive, so unless you're willing to pay for it, I'm not going to make you a train of outfit wearing you's to choose an outfit from every day" Velvet giggled at the look of utter betrayal on Coco's face. These two seemed to compliment the other greatly and it made him smile to see how fluidly Coco was able to both support and raise up her nervous, other-half.

 _You'll never have this. You'll die alone. Just like what you said you hope happens to Weiss._

The dark thoughts came back as he looked at the happy couple, forcing them down once again and allowing the happiness in the room to flow into him before Coco could pick up on his dip in mood.

With the click of the camera, the model of a female him began to form, almost like starlight itself was beginning to flow from Velvets' weapon and onto the stage where she grew a large smile as the body took shape.

There, stood at about 5.9ft was himself, or rather _herself_ , stood proudly, with his sword and shield in hand, she stood in a rather neutral stance, her body looking relaxed yet rigid at the same time.

"Alright kid, it's on you and your weird as hell mind, though me and Velv will still help, to figure out what we're missing here. Oh, and if you do, be aware you are becoming my official consultant from now on" Coco said in a way that in a way that sounded _far_ too much like a threat.

Without a moment to waste, all three of them got to work, having Velvet modify the image to appear in what they thought of and Jaune, now able to see it from a perspective he understood, even if it sounded utterly stupid when said out loud seeing as he was hopeless to offer help when he himself was wearing it, but seeing what could have passed as his twin in front of him let his mind go to work and begin to formulate different ideas that Velvet would then use to copy onto a secondary figure of Jaune as his regular self.

It was so odd, his mind was a whirlwind of ideas when looking at his female counterpart, but the second he looked at what may has well have been his reflection, it went blank. He'd have to have words with Saffron for helping to cause this weird nature of his brain, she _had_ been the one who had originally put him in that frilly horror when he was a kid! Then again, he did owe her for putting him up in her house when he'd ran away from home and not ratted him out to mom... okay, he'd leave Saphron alone... he did _not_ wanna risk bringing down the wrath of his mom... nope!

Minutes later, with all three of them pouring over the work and still at a loss for good ideas, something seemed to click for Jaune and he excitedly told the girls what he thought of, much to their surprise and apparent joy as they rapidly agreed with him, Coco speeding off the grab the necessary pieces to add to his design.

1 hour later

"Well, I gotta hand it you kid, you just helped me think of a new way to test my fashion ideas and proved I need to think about hiring you as my family's official designer" Coco once again smiled, bringing him in for a one-armed hug. This time, instead of feeling the usual drain f his negative emotions, Jaune just felt a gentle warmth from the girl as he returned it by pulling her into a friendly hug that had Velvet Laughing quietly when Coco let out a surprised squawk.

"Thanks for today, Coco. Glad I got to know the girl behind the minigun" he joked, feeling her shoulders' shake lightly as she laughed at his joke.

"No problem kid, now get off!"

Letting go of a mildly annoyed looking, though still smiling, Coco, Jaune turned to Velvet who immediately began to look a little shy but held out her hand awkwardly as she clicked to what he wanted to do.

 _Oh you poor fool, Mom didn't raise a hand shaker! She raised a hugger!_

Bringing her into a big and warm hug, his head rested above hers and he caught the, admittedly humorous, scent of carrot.

"Thanks Velvet… for everything. Today has been amazing and if it hadn't been for you coming to see my sorry butt under that tree, I never would have gotten to do this, gotten to be friends with Coco and Yatsuhashi, so… thanks… for being my friend" he said with as much genuine emotion as he could muster, feeling her grip on him tighten as she let out a small laugh.

"Well… thank you… for, you know, making sure Cardin won't bother me again, and being a friend to me as well" she said sweetly, her smile beaming.

Jaune made to reply to her, if not for the screeching voice that murdered the pleasant atmosphere, they were in.

" _ **ARC!"**_

* * *

Weiss… well, she had, had a hard week.

She had spent the week being tortured by horrific night terrors every time she allowed herself to fall asleep. Unfortunately, trying to simply _not_ sleep was out of the question. It was a basic human need to sleep, as without it, the human body would eventually just _stop_. Weiss knew she a stubborn person, of all the slander that had ever been thrown at her, Weiss would admit that, that was one of the very true accusations they had sent her way.

But even her stubborn nature couldn't overcome the need to sleep. And that was when the night terrors found her. That was when they plagued her, tortured her, made her scream and shout. All because of that damn Arc…

He was always there.

Sometimes he would appear to be fine, smiling at her and she would stupidly think her nightmares were over. But then, as if her own mind despised her, it would all change.

The wounds would open, blood would begin to pour and the gore would spill out.

Each and every damnable time it would happen.

He wouldn't even react to the damage, like it didn't matter at all to him that he was suffering from mortal wounds. No, he would just smile at her and make her feel… something… something she couldn't quite understand. He would say all these kind things to her while making it seem like he was less than the dirt itself.

It would always end in one of two ways… he would either throw himself from the building to his death below… or… she… she would…

That was when she would wake up, too used to it to be afraid for long and letting it boil down to rage as she let her anger at the damn boy that plagued her dreams flow through.

He was doing this to her, be it through intention or not, his damn face had plagued her for days… she tried to be angry and blame him… she really wanted to, but for once she couldn't blame the child that was that was Arc.

It was her own mind getting angry at herself… she knew that, despite her deserving and righteous hatred of the boy, she had been out of line with what she was said… and now her mind was making her pay the price for her folly.

She was Weiss Schnee and though she may be exhausted, her eyes suffering with small bags under them and her posture forcefully put straight despite wanting to do nothing more than slouch, or collapse her to the ground entirely to get some much needed sleep, she would not let herself be brought down by a boy, a child, a pathetic excuse for a hunter… she would not be brought down by the painful, screeching cacophony that beat against the white walled prison they were held within. She would ignore that it clearly got worse that day she had, had to message Ruby from around the corner as she had watched her and _Arc_ , hugging…

 _Why are you angry that he hugged her?_

She ignored the stupid thought, her mind choosing to angrily focus on another thing that deeply annoyed her. He clearly seemed to enjoy being around that _'Velvet'_ girl, a lot, so her mind had no reason to torture her since she seemed to make him so _happy_. He clearly enjoyed spending time around her to the point they had come up with some vomit inducing nicknames, who even was this _Bond?_ Probably someone from those stupid little movies they probably watched under a quilt at night together. Cuddling up together and doing sickeningly moronic things they thought were _cute_.

 _Ooo, look at me I'm a Faunus girl who's_ so _adorably shy and, oh, my ears? Oh yes they are_ so _soft, would you like to rub them Mr Bond? Oh, what am I saying? I'm such a cutesy, ditz with my oversized chest and thunder thighs and bulging posterior!_

"Weiss?"

 _Oh, do you like my perfume? I call it, 'Ou d'harlot'_

" _Weiss?"_

 _Oh, would you mind bringing me some flowers and writing me a song? I heard you put a lot of effort into it the last time…_

" _ **WEISS!"**_

"Oh, yes Ruby?" she enquired her mind thrusting from the confusing thoughts she had found herself in. Why had she been thinking such toxic thoughts about a girl who had done nothing to her? A girl who hadn't even spoken to her? Then again... she had gone out of her way to accuse the girl of being a White Fang sympathiser... Just where had such an angry thought come from? That itself was something worth making her angry at herself...

"You were… well, you were kinda spacing out there, Weiss" Ruby said with a worried expression that would have annoyed Weiss in the past, but now she found herself cherishing the caring nature of her friend and teammate. "I asked what kind of crepe you wanted, but you just kinda stood there with a moody look on your face, is everything okay?"

How could she forget?

Ruby had convinced her to come to Vale to enjoy a trip around the town, to get away from Beacon and her apparent 'grumpiness' and simply spend time together as friends.

They had actually been enjoying themselves as well, despite Weiss being incredibly tired and struggling to both not face the likes of Xiao Long, and get ready for a day of 'fun, fun, fun times!' as Ruby put it, They had arrived in Vale shortly before 8:00 and the two of them had quickly proceeded to a shop Ruby had promised would serve the best crepes in Remnant.

She had been looking forward to it as well! That was until upon entering the shop, which was designed in a pleasant mix of and Atlesian and Valean architecture, she spotted a bashful looking Faunus girl with a reptilian tale and a boy who towered over nearly everyone present and who's head was covered in a mop of black hair. The two were clearly on a date and were having a good time, from the way the girl laughed quietly and how the boy became bashful when she gently patted his arm.

 _Live with your mistakes..._

That was when her tired mind had wandered to what Ruby had just thrown her out of, and now she found herself getting a small dusting of red across her cheeks as the girl at the counter was giving her a patient, if a little strained, smile as Ruby looked at in a worried manner.

"O-Oh… I'm sorry Ruby, don't worry I just let my mind get a little too focused on what I wanted to have, there are so many good choices" she smiled, feeling herself wince internally at lying to her friend so easily, but she didn't want to both worry Ruby further than she already was and also she didn't want top have to delve into the mess that had been her mind. She didn't want to think deeper on what she had just been thinking of. Looking back at the board that showed off the twenty or so flavours she could choose from, one caught her eye more than the rest however. "I'll have a blueberry crepe with cream please" she said and the woman was clearly happy to finally have her order, if not for the fact that Weiss noticed that a line had built up during the time she had been stuck in her own thoughts.

As soon as their crepes were done, they hurriedly escaped from the restaurant and Weiss was certain she heard a few cheers of excitement as they did.

"Heh… well… at least we got our food!" Ruby chirped, smiling brightly as they made their way down the street, Ruby clearly enjoying the sights and sounds of the city while Weiss found herself actually relaxing for the first time in a long time. She simply let the storm in her mind calm to the noise of people chatting away happily, the smell of the blueberries as their juices began to dye the cream a pleasant, purple-blue hue and even the sights of the hustle and bustle. Normally trying to fight your way through the streets of any town was an arduous task, even more so for a woman of Weiss's height, but… now it just seemed so _normal_ that she couldn't help but enjoy it.

"Agreed, oh and you were right, this is truly delicious" she smiled, enjoying how Ruby smiled in response to her praise, like she were a puppy.

"I know, right! Oh! I wanna get some new dust rounds for Crescent Rose, been meaning to try and see if they've managed to solve the drop-off issue with Gravity dust ones… do… do you mind joining me? I mean we can go somewhere else if you don't want to! I just, uh… well… it's gun stuff" she said, with a small pout forming that she desperately tried to smother, probably to not make her feel like she was being coerced into it by the younger girls worry and sadness.

Feeling a little more of that energy she felt before, envigerating her tired limbs, Weiss rolled her eyes with a smile and flicked Ruby on the nose, drawing an incredulous look from the girl. "Yes, we can go. I've been meaning to see about seeing how the stocks of the Vale shops compare to the dust I brought from Atlas"

The way Ruby seemed to vibrate on the spot with an incredibly happy look on her face told Weiss she was certainly happy with her answer.

 _You can try and pretend you're happy, happy to be with your friend. But would she still be your friend if she knew what you'd said to him?_

The thought made her stop for a brief moment, Weiss staring in worry towards Ruby who was already beginning to almost flash down the street with the small bursts of her semblance that she used. The very idea of Ruby hating her was a scary thought, so far she knew Ruby didn't actually _hate_ anyone… but if she was going to start, Weiss could imagine what she had said would be a good enough reason.

She didn't have time for those thoughts though.

With a smile she only had to force for a small amount of time, she ran after her friend, doing her best to keep up with the speedster, shouting for her to slow down as she went.

It turned out, the weapons store that Ruby wanted to go to wasn't that far and the girl was even more excited as they entered the shop.

What shocked Weiss, however, was the fact that Ruby's eyes seemed to take on a professional edge as she scanned the stacks of different ammo alongside picking up some modifications to her weapon, despite the hundreds of possible ways she could _already_ modify her weapon, and turned to Weiss with a bright and cheery smile she couldn't but give a small one of her own back.

 _She won't ever want to do this with you when she finds out. She probably won't even want to be your friend. You'll just hurt her… like you hurt him._

There were those dark thoughts again… a way for her tired mind to express her true inner worries and fears. What if she did lose Ruby?... what if she did lose what could very well be one of her last friends in Beacon… forced to be oh so lonely once again…

For the first time in a long time… Weiss felt a little scared. It was almost too much for her, already exhausted, mind to handle and she could have sworn she was about to break out into tears, if not for a gentle yet grounding hand taking hold of her shoulder.

"Hey… you wanna go somewhere quiet for a little while? I hear the park is nice this time of day?" Ruby asked in a voice far too old to fit her young and sweet face. It sounded like a voice far too used to pain and suffering. Like she could tell at just a glance that she was suffering because she had been through it all herself. What happened to that little weapon nut with the cookie obsession?

"Yes… I-I would like that" she said in a voice that sounded far too weak for her liking.

"Cool, means I can see if you fit in the kiddie swings" she said in an extremely rare bout of teasing that caused Weiss to flush with anger for the briefest of moments, before she let out a small laugh and shook her head, calling her a dolt. Ruby had greatly matured during the short time that she'd known her, going from an antisocial little girl who would rather talk to her weapon and interact with another person to someone who could literally hold entire conversations... so long as it was someone that she knew... Ruby was still _Ruby_ after all.

Following Ruby to the counter so she could pay for her items, then allowing herself to be led by her friend towards what she assumed was the park, if the steadily increasing number of trees and foliage was anything to go by.

After entering the park, they both decided that it would be best to rest their aching feet and quickly found a small bench along a pleasantly flowered path to sit on.

And sit they did, Ruby flopping down onto the bench with all the dignity of a flaming Ursa, while Weiss forced herself to not do the same and seated herself gently down, ensuring her skirt remained unfurled and proper.

There they sat for the longest time, neither of them saying anything, though Weiss couldn't bring herself to feel awkward about it. She was too tired, and sitting down at the surprisingly comfy bench hadn't helped her to try and force her eyes to stay open, she couldn't sleep now… not when she knew what awaited her when she closed her eyes... she... she needed to... to stay... aw...

 _"You caused this Weiss" he said, smiling sweetly while blood poured down his chest with many copies of her weapon embedded in his body. "You wanted me dead... but I guess I couldn't do it quick enough, right? I love you, Weiss... I... I love you... Thank you for letting me make you smile one last time..."_

She gasped awake, Ruby's hand tight on her shoulder and she looked at her with a scared expression.

"Weiss. Weiss, you're okay... You're okay... I'm here, _you're_ here, you're not on a roof... Jaune's... Jaune's okay" she kept gently squeezing her shoulders as Weiss got her breathing under control, eyes never leaving Ruby's as he thundering heart calmed down ever so slightly... before a thought occurred to her...

"Wh-What are you talking about, Ruby?" she asked, Ruby's eyes widening slightly before they looked away and nibbled her lip in a clear display of nervousness.

"You... You talk in your sleep sometimes... and-and I heard you just then, you kept saying Jaune's name..."

Even now... he was affecting her, even when she was trying to enjoy a day with Ruby! Her friend... one of her _last_ friends... a scowl crossed over Weiss' face at the thought of him ruining even _this_ for her.

"Well, I was probably just thinking of how angry he made me!" she blatantly lied, once more angry with herself for daring to do to Ruby but she couldn't let her know what had just gone through her mind... She would then find out what she'd said... she... she would hate her...

"You know… you don't have to force yourself to pretend you're okay, you know that… right? We're friends Weiss… You don't have to pretend around me…" Ruby spoke up quietly, though her words may as well have been screamed. Ruby _had_ noticed then… she had seen her trying to desperately hide her pain and Weiss thought she'd gotten away with it? Sometimes she forgot just how observant she could be…

With a shaky sigh, Weiss turned her head to find Ruby looking right at her, a worried expression on her face.

If she had been less tired, Weiss would have told her she was imagining things. If she was less tired, Weiss would have thought of a way to distract her leader and friend. If she was less tired… Weiss wouldn't have opened her mouth and let slip those fatal words.

"Ruby?" she questioned, not even needing to get a vocal confirmation form the girl to know she had her full attention. "What… what would you do if you kept seeing someone you know in your heart you hate… yet… seeing them brings you so much _joy_. Like seeing them, knowing that what you saw in your nightmares last night wasn't real. That they're still here… that they're still alive and you are able to feel just a small amount of joy in knowing that fact? It's so odd… so, so odd… I hate this person… I know I do for what he did to me and yet… I just have this overwhelming sense of guilt that won't go away every time I see him in pain… I don't know what to do Ruby" she said with a voice she hated to admit had a shake in it. whether it was due to her being beyond exhausted or simply because she was finally letting it all out.

"I... I take it we're talking about Jaune?" she questioned, though it was clear Ruby already knew who she was talking about. "Because… You were kinda talking about him and... I… Well you don't have to if you don't want to…" she said despite clearly wanting her to say she did.

"Yes… Yes, I'm talking about Arc… and no, I _need_ to talk about this before I manage to get enough rest to convince myself that not talking about this is a good idea… I'm… I'm so tired Ruby… I haven't slept well in days… every time I do, I see… _him_ " she said in a near whisper, but it was clear that Ruby had heard, if the creasing of her brow was an indicator. "I said something… something terrible Ruby. Despite how much I hate him… I said something unforgivable… something you shouldn't say to your worst enemy and yet I did. I said something so cruel that it's been haunting my mind every time I go to sleep… It's why I woke up from that night terror earlier this week, screaming my head off in fear. I refuse to ever speak to him again, let alone be in his presence, but I want this all to go away… I want all this pain to just go away… I want to stop seeing him-… with what's happened to me in these short few weeks, I just want to be able to relax… have fun with my friends and my team. To see Blake trying to desperately hide her pornography in class, to see Xia- _Yang_ messing with that wild mane of hers for forty minutes while the rest of us consider smashing down the bathroom door… I have had time to think… and while I am _truly_ furious at her and Valkyrie for what they did, I… I don't want to have to fight this war on two fronts. JNPR hates me. Frankly I both deserve it and don't honestly care if it means I'm free of the pain of thinking Arc deserved my worry and care, of thinking he actually cared for me, which he clearly didn't, that much I know."

 _Liar. You're just trying to try and lie to yourself to stop the nightmares. Trying to stop the pain._

"But… seeing team RWBY so divided, seeing you hurt because of what happened with your sister when ever she sees you lately… I won't pretend that I'm not sick of seeing people in pain. And yes, that includes Arc… even that boy didn't deserve what I said, as I made clear." She said as she watched Ruby's mouth begin to open, before it snapped shut. "The thing is… I'm still so angry at her, Ruby. At so many people, that I honestly don't know what to do. Do… Do think I should try and forgive her, to at least heal the rift between our team? At any other time, I would probably stick to my pride and refuse to speak to them ever again… but I'm tired Ruby. I'm not sure how many times I've even said that now, I'm so exhausted"

With her words said, Weiss sat there with her head bowed and her bangs covering her eyes as she watched Ruby's mind work. The younger girl bit her lip in thought as her silver eyes flitted each and every way that wasn't at her… it was almost like she could hear the cogs in her brain and it could have almost brought a smile to her face… almost…

After another bout of silence that felt like it lasted hours, Ruby looked directly at her with that gentle smile of hers, placing her hand on her shoulder and spoke.

"I… Well I'm pretty darn angry at Yang myself, but I'm also kinda sick of what's going on… _but,_ well you need to try and get a good nights sleep before you even try and sort this out because, even if it sounds good to you now… well it could sound really bad when you get some rest and think about it, then you're an even worse mess. Kinda like when I decided to make an entire batch of cookies and decided to see how quickly I could eat them… it was a batch of about forty so… yeah, sounded great at the time, but when I thought about it with a less cookie obsessed brain, I realised how stupid it was… I know it sounds kinda silly but it's the best way I can think of to show I've been in your situation before-not that me eating cookies is a bad as you having night terrors-but I just wanted to-"

"Heheheh!" Weiss giggled, _giggled,_ at her best friends' antics and smiled at her warmly. Knowing her friend would always be able to bring that smile to her face. "It's okay Ruby, I get it… I actually get it and I think you're right… I'd rather not just go an apologise to her if there's the slightest chance that, when I am more alert and aware, that I could end up simply wanting to hate her still… But are _you_ okay with this going on until I come to a conclusion? I know this must be hurting you Ruby…" she tried to say but the squeezing of her friends gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"Yeah… yeah it does suck… but you, as my dearest partner that you are, come first… I'm tough! I drink milk! I am a stone wall of toughness!" she laughed, though Weiss heard that it sounded rather hollow than usual. That was how her partner and friend worked… she was always trying to hide her pain behind laughter and pretending to be happy when she really wasn't… she always had to do a Ruby and put literally _everyone_ before herself…

"Heh… one of these days you are going to have to realise that it's okay to put yourself first you dolt" she said, thought it wasn't like it mattered as Ruby stiffened ever so slightly before she quickly turned around and gave Weiss one of her brilliant, and oh so fake, grins.

"Dunno what ya mean Weiss!" she said, her head darting in every direction to try and obviously find a distraction from the subject she clearly didn't wish to speak about. Apparently she did find one as she suddenly looked extremely excited and grabbed Weiss by the hand and began to drag her off again, Weiss managing to get a few angry squawks in before she suddenly stopped in front of a shop that made her eyes widen in surprise and confusion.

"Melodica's music emporium? Ruby… Why are we here? I somehow doubt you are that much a fan when it comes to music…" she said in an uncharacteristic nervous manner. The last thing she wanted to do was offend her friend, she didn't need to be worrying about _that_ any more than she already was.

 _You're just a coward clawing to try and force a friendship on some poor girl who deserves to know the truth and hate you like you deserve…_

She… she really needed to get a good nights sleep, Weiss thought as her friend rolled her eyes and pointed to a familiar set of red earphones. "I got these babies from here, so I know it's cool and well you like music, I mean I hear you sing in the shower and it got me thinking you might like to try and find some music… thingy you could practice on to keep your mind occupied…" she trailed off, poking her two pointer fingers together in nervousness. Clearly thinking Weiss might think her idea foolish when she in actuality was considering blowing down another boundary and hugging the girl. That idea was quickly squashed as she realised that would open up the flood gates to constant hugs from her young partner. That was a fate worse than death…

 _You like thinking of death, don't you Snow Angel?_

Forcing the ugly and sleep deprivation caused thoughts from her mind, Weiss smiled warmly at her friend before quickly slipping into the shop with the tinkling of the bell, and excited looking Ruby following closely behind.

The shop had been fairly large and welcoming and the owner even more so as the rotund woman had brought Ruby in for a hug that the girl quickly accepted and reciprocated, before she bade them the explore her shop and find something they liked as soon as Ruby explained her reasoning for being here with Weiss.

It had been… fun! Truly fun, the instruments were incredible. Ranging from the classic instruments who used the power of the wielder, fine as hair strings and the wind itself to the more modern and technical looking pieces like keyboards and electric guitars. Weiss was more of classical kind of woman and took pleasure in running her hand across a mahogany piano with keys that reacted perfectly to her touch. While she would never be able to even comprehend a way to try and keep it at Beacon… it did give her the idea to see if Beacon itself kept any form of musical rooms for those looking for a more artistic way to relax.

While she had found it odd that Ruby had fixated on a plain looking bass guitar with a melancholy look on her face that had quickly disappeared when she had enquired as to whether she was okay, they had, had an enjoyable time and it was going oh so perfectly… until, after exiting the shop with a small violin she planned on using to learn a few songs that she remembered from her childhood, she saw him…

Or to be more accurate, she saw _them._

They were there with gentle whispers of smiles on their faces… their eyes so focused on another as they stared in a clearly loving manner at the Faunus in his large arms. They looked so happy, so content… so… so…

Something in Weiss snapped as she stared at the clearly happy couple as they looked ready to kiss right then and there. Something dark and bubbling with malice and spitting venomous hatred. Something that drowned out any logical reasoning that her tired mind could muster.

Instead she said one word. In truth she screamed in a furious bellow that could startle banshee's themselves.

For in that moment she knew. She had truly meant nothing to the boy before her. She had never meant anything to the pathetic little child before her. While she shouldn't have cared what he did so long as he stayed out of her life… that was what she had said she wanted, right? She did care. And she was furious.

" _ **ARC!"**_


	15. Tears of pain fall like the rain

**The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Tears of pain fall like the rain**

The scream of rage that shocked him out of the happy moment was truly and utterly terrifying to him, even more so as he recognised the furious voice behind it.

 _Weiss..._

Though, he'd never heard her shout his name with such outright _anger_ and _disgust_ to it and never with such… hurt? It sounded so hurt and pained and reminded him of when Saffron had discovered her girlfriend of three years had been cheating on her since practically the start of it all. It had been the one-time Jaune had actually considered hitting a woman, outside of combat class, with how his sister had cried for days… his other sisters had beaten him to it however and the girl was found a few days later, tied upside down to a tree with multiple bruises, a busted lip and eyes swollen shut to the point she couldn't see. Shockingly enough, she had moved out of town as soon as possible.

Why was the voice and, now he could see her figure storming over to him with a face red with rage, Weiss herself coming up to him sounding just like Saffron had all those years ago? Why did she look so murderous and was directing it all at him?

What had he done now? What had he done to get her so angry with him? He had _literally_ done nothing to her, said nothing to her or even looked in her general direction if he could help it since she had… since _their_ big blow up.

He had been having such a good day as well... why did it have to go so wrong?

He had too many questions running through his head as the small demon marched right up to him with an absolutely terrified looking Ruby right behind her, begging her partner to just walk away though it was clear that Weiss either didn't hear her or was simply ignoring her.

Though, if he were to be honest, there was one question running through his mind. A question that both annoyed and confused him as he stared right at her. Why did she look like she was in a horrendous amount… of pain? He was the one who had the right to be in pain, right? He was the one who she had decided to suddenly scream at... what had he done to apparently maker her so angry and upset?

 _You must have done this. You must have caused this. Look at how **hurt** she is. What did you do, **coward?**_

Velvet and Coco seemed to not be as stunned as he was as they made to stand in front of him protectively Coco even had her arms raised up in a defensive manner. That didn't seem to bother Weiss as she simply halted in front of them and glared at him as if they weren't there. It was when she opened her mouth that the thunderous beating and crushing pain in his chest began to build until his chest felt like it was going to burst. The words hurting a lot more than he expected them to.

A few days ago, he bet he'd have gone into a rage over her shouting at him for _no_ reason!... But now? Now he just felt this... _pain_ cutting through him, like little needles pushing into his skin every time he saw a new layer of pain on her face.

"Does this make you happy!? Oh, I bet you loved making me think you'd actually fallen for me! It wouldn't surprise me if you planned this, you utter reprobate! I bet you wanted me to see you with _another girl!_ Why, why do you love doing this to me!? Whatever this _sick_ little idea of yours is, stop it now! I hate you! I hate you with all my heart!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she did. She was acting like he had done something horrible to her… had he? Had he somehow done something terrible enough to make her cry?

 _You did. You did something because all you ever do is make people upset. You hurt Ruby by making her have to choose between friends, forced her to divide her time to meet your selfish need for her to feel sorry for you. She should hate you, your worthless little failure._

The murderous, shattering beat thundered through its cage, threatening to destroy it as it went on.

"Wh-what?" was all he could say as he looked at her in complete confusion, unable to say anything else as his brain tried to comprehend just _what_ she was going on about.

"Hey, Bitch-queen" Coco growled, poking a finger into Weiss's chest and looming over her in an aggressive stance. "He ain't done shit to you-" she started but Weiss just screamed at her instead, directing her fury onto her instead.

"Yes he did! He's done this before and has done it again! He **loves** to hurt me! He **loves** to make me suffer!" she shouted, her entire body shaking violently as she stared at Coco with tired eyes, with hints of bags beneath them. It looked like she hadn't slept for days... Did... did he really look like he enjoyed her pain?

 _You hurt Nora when you told her you wished you'd never met her. You made her feel so terrible that she must have cried so hard that night and every night since, Ren won't even_ speak _to her, so that's_ another _thing you did to her... you took away her childhood friend. The one person she trusted more anyone, now hates her as much as_ you _deserve to be hated!_

Jaune felt a strange numbness as he stared at the quivering girl before him. Where before he would have felt rage and fury… now he felt… worry… why did he care about her pain? She'd hurt him so badly and made his life hell… he shouldn't care about her in the slightest. He _should_ be furious at her for ruining what was shaping up to be a great day! Then… why? Why was he so worried for her? Why did he... why did he want to hold her close and try and take away the pain?

"BULL!" Coco roared, showing an anger that he had not seen in her, even Velvet seemed ready to shout herself, her protective stance in front of him looking ready to break into an attack at the slightest hint of aggression other than words.

"No! He's just fooling you, like he fooled me! He helped to cause the breakdowns of our teams!" she retorted, her fists shaking as she continued to glare at him.

 _You did, didn't you? You hurt them all so much… Yang will never get the chance to repair things with Ruby… Neither will Nora ever feel brave enough to confess to Ren now that he hates her. Ren will always have the guilt of hurting her as well, eating away at him until there's nothing left. Blake will always be alone in the world, no one she truly feels she can turn to, all because of you. You ruined their lives._

The booming crash in his chest was more powerful than waves across razor rocks to the point he clutched painfully at it, feeling the rising tempo begin to take over his every thought. It was only Velvet who took notice, not that he himself noticed her concern, as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Uh-huh. Heard you had a pretty big part in that yourself, or was that _not_ you who went and slapped your teammate across the face?" Coco replied with a sneer that turned into a grin when Weiss seemed to falter… why did it bother him so much to see Coco shouting at her? Why did it… hurt? "Wasn't it _you_ who made you entire team practically split down the middle _because_ of what you did to her? Yeah

"Coco… th-this isn't-" he began but a threatening finger pointed straight at his face shut him right up.

"I don't need your venomous words, Arc!" Weiss spat, tears streaming down her face. "Why can't you just leave me alone!?"

"But he was leaving you alone! We were enjoying a day out, trying to help him forget what you did to him!" Velvet seemed to find her voice as she glared in a shocking show of hostility.

"Be quiet! I do not need _your_ input girl! You will never tell the truth, I saw how you were all over him mere moments ago! You're more than likely in on his sick little game as well!" Weiss cried, her words seemingly only making sense to her as Ruby tried to gently pull her friend back with an apologetic look to Velvet as said girl recoiled and adopted her usual timid persona while Coco's anger only seemed to flare.

"The hell did you just say to her!? You're damn lucky we're in public, Schnee!"

"Weiss… please, you need to calm down, this isn't worth it…" Ruby pleaded, and her words seemed to actually reach the enraged and frantic looking girl, her eyes widening slightly and her tears becoming even more apparent as she looked at him once more in hatred.

 _Look. You're hurting them to, Velvet and Coco were doing their best to make you happy while ruining their day by being stuck with you and look how you repaid them. You brought all this pain and hurt to them. Velvet looks ready to cry, all because of you and Coco even more so. Do you think she enjoys taking all your pain away so you can selfishly bask in the feeling of bliss she provides? To be forced to feel the pain_ you _deserve to feel!_

 _It would have been better if you followed her advice…_

Weiss seemed ready to possibly leave, to run away from him.

 _You should have just listened..._

But Coco wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot it seemed as she moved to within an inch of Weiss's face and spat her next words, though in his current emotional and mental state, he didn't catch them.

* * *

"I know what you said, bitch. You have no right to be playing the moral high ground when you said those _vile_ words. You have no idea what you did to him, so take those sad little words of yours and get lost before I do something I _won't_ regret"

That seemed to do something to the brat in front of her, the girl going still as stone as her pupils became pin pricks in fields of ice, before her head abruptly shot down and her body began to violently shake on the spot as if she were trying to hold in an explosion. She heard the girl mumble a few words and it honestly pissed her off even more to know the girl had suddenly decided to fall into the 'I'm such a sweet little flower who's so scared of you' routine she'd seen a million times before.

This little bitch had torn her friend a new one just because he hadn't been able to fight back like Coco could, she wasn't gonna allow this little brat to get away with acting like _this._

"If you're gonna speak, then say it louder!" she roared and was honestly shocked when the girls head snapped up, a pain in her eyes that Coco knew couldn't be faked and a tiredness in her eyes that wasn't just from a clear lack of sleep. It looked more akin to the eyes of someone she cared for like family and it took all her willpower to not feel some form of sympathy for the pompous brat who had just ruined their day.

"H-he won't leave me alone… ev-every night… every night I see him… I see him d- _hic_ " her words seemed to catch in her throat, unable to finish the word, but Coco could make out what she meant to say... and was honestly trying to figure out if was upset with herself or not for being happy she was suffering for it.

"Coco… My name's Ruby, I-I'm a friend of Jaune's and Weiss'" the girl in red she recognised as Ruby Rose stood before her, clearly conflicted as to what to do as even she seemed to realise that her bitch of a partner was at fault. But was more than ready to try and defuse the situation, showing off her good nature that Coco couldn't help but admire. "Please, she's not doing too well… please can we just dr-"

"If she wants to speak, she can, Rose. Not much she could possibly say to make me hate her more in any case" she said, once more turning her deadly glare onto the Heiress. "After what you did, you're lucky I'm letting you be anywhere near Jaune"

His name seemed to physically worry her even more.

"I see him, every time I go to sleep I… I see him… He's says such kind words b-b-before I… I get so scared… I actually worry about him, and th-then I come to see him trying to hurt me again!" she screamed, clearly uncaring for the relatively large crowd that her tirade had brought. "Why!? Why won't he just leave me alone!? Why won't he stop… stop making me think he cared before hurting me again…" she said in voice that was barely a whisper but may as well have been a shout to Coco as she felt her heart pause for the briefest of moments as she took in the girls words.

* * *

 _Look at her, you're hurting her again and that hurts the most, doesn't it? that she's crying because of you. you're a monster. Why don't you just follow her advice?_

Jaune stared dead ahead, a cold, numbness invading his very being as he looked at the broken girl before him.

* * *

Her pause lasted for the briefest moment before her rage took over once more and she grabbed her arm to throw her into her teammate for daring to act like _she_ was the one who was suffering because of Jaune and not the other way around.

She intended to make damn clear in the moment, just what she thought of the Heiress making herself out to be the one who was suffering.

She intended to scream in her face till she turned blue and then some.

She _intended_ to throw her to her teammate and demand they leave before she lost it.

What happened was something else entirely.

For as she touched the girl, through an accidental use of her semblance probably brought on by her manic emotional state, she felt… _everything_.

She looked as the girl slowly began to stop shaking, her breathing becoming more normal as she stared at her with wide eyes.

It was… it was _horrifying_ …

Sadness, fear, loneliness, want, anger, regret, pain, suffering… and something that made her feel sick to her stomach. She felt it all and it terrified her.

With a shaking hand, she withdrew from the stunned girl, who was still struck dumb by what had just happened.

Forcing all the horrific, foreign emotions down, she forced herself to feel just the anger as she returned to glaring at the girl. The very girl who had been screaming at her without a care for who heard her, who had been screaming her hatred for her friend mere moments ago… Now she looked almost empty, like a wave had come and washed away all that was her. The girl looked her in the eyes, a question on her lips as the tears seemed to spring anew, seemingly the emotions were strong enough to return as soon as Coco had let go and the girl was getting ready for another outburst.

Before she could, Coco once more got in her face and, with a cold look in her eyes, spoke.

* * *

 _She looks so scared… remember, It's all your fault. It will always be your fault you selfish, lying, uncaring waste of human potential. You should have just left her all alone when you saw her back at initiation. Then she could have been happy. You should have just been a good little coward and stayed away from her and then they could_ all _be happy… you should never have come here, never should have hurt all these people with your selfish, cowardly nature._

 _Why don't you just 'kill two birds with one stone?'_

* * *

"You do _not_ get to do that to him again. You do _not_ get to hurt him like that ever again! You've already had your chance and blew it... If I were you, I'd get rid of those feelings _extremely_ quickly, because if I hear he cried because of you, one more time… I'll make sure you don't even get the chance regret it" she seethed, shooting one last look at a, for once, aggressive looking Ruby who looked ready to defend her partner at a moments' notice. _Heh… she doesn't deserve someone that good to her_. She turned around, ignoring the girls' quiet question as to what she meant but she ignored her. She didn't matter anymore. She walked back to see Jaune looking frail and weak, a haunted look on his face as he stared into the nothing while one hand hung loosely at his side and the other clenched tightly at his chest, shaking ever so slightly.

She needed to get him out of here. She needed to get him somewhere, where she could calm him down and help him get past what had just happened.

Reaching out her arm, she made to take away his pain once more so she could lead him away. Her fingers touched his hand to calm it's shaking.

* * *

 _Why don't you just die?_

Jaune didn't even notice the girl in front of him, as her eyes widened and her skin turned pale. Her lip quivering as she stared at him.

 _Maybe… Maybe it really would be be-_ his thoughts were interrupted a stinging pain washed over his cheek as his hazy eyes focused on the murderous looking Coco, tears streaming down her face as she roared at him, mere inches from his face.

* * *

"How dare you! How _dare_ you think that! Don't you _ever_ think that again, Jaune Arc! You matter! You matter to me, you matter to Velvet, hell! You matter to a lot of people!" she screamed, staring into his scared eyes, fear taking place of the… the _dead_ look that had taken hold of him.

Velvet came around and gently took hold of her hand, her worry hitting Coco like a freight train but she ignored it, only looking at her from the corner of her eye as her girlfriend looked at her in mild fear.

"Coco… what are you doing? What… what did you feel? What-" Coco didn't need to answer, it seemed to click in her head as she too turned to look at Jaune in worry and fear. Coco looked at her for the briefest of moments and she could see what this new-found information had done to her aura, it looked brittle and weak, muted in colour as she dashed forward and enveloped Jaune in a hug, her tears pouring into his hoodie even as he stared on with those fearful eyes of his.

Fear, in this one case, was good. It meant she didn't have to see those eyes again. Those eyes that only belonged on a corpse.

"What do you think would happen? What do you think would happen if you just up and left me and Velvet!? How it would make us feel!? You matter to us you big, blonde idiot! Don't you _ever_ forget that… Because if me and Velvet woke up one morning to find out you'd… you'd thrown yourself from a building, I… I- _hic…_ I wouldn't be able to deal with it… That little voice in your head is something I never want to find out you started listening to. You need to stay alive… What would your sisters think!? How would they feel to know you were gone!? You need to be strong. You need to be the guy that makes Velvet laugh and feel secure… Do you have any idea how happy she looked when you two texted the other day for near the entire night about those stupid little arts and crafts things you like!? How calm she seems every time she sees you and starts acting like the happy girl I want her to _always be!?_ Velvet doesn't get like this with people! That just isn't her! Yet, you somehow got through her shell and she now she considers you one of her best friends! The guy who is quickly becoming one of _my_ best friends… Do you know how scared I get when I see you having a bad day and I can't help? Then how relieved I feel when us three have a near nightly meet up or call!? It's insane how happy it makes me to hear you rattle on about that ugly hoodie of yours, just because I know that it's the real you I'm talking to and not this **stupid** wall you're putting up to try and pretend you aren't hurting! I swear I will break every god damn bone in your body if you _ever_ think about that shit again! Do you hear me, Jaune Arc!? I am telling you, right now! You matter so _much_ to both of us! _You_ are _not_ allowed to die!" she said, finishing in a seething whisper, her anger subsiding for only a moment until she heard the choked gasp of the object of her unbridled rage from behind her.

* * *

 _D-die?_ The word echoed through her mind as her field of vision seemed to remove all but the sight of the trembling, terrified form of Jaune Arc as he was held by Coco Adel.

 _Die? No… h-he… he can't… no… he can't just die…_

The images of all the versions of him from her Night-terrors appeared in her mind, the one's she had _killed_ , they all looked at her with those big beaming smiles of there's as they looked at her… always smiling, they always looked so happy to see her, like the real Jaune had before _this_ had all started.

 _Please… Please tell me she's wrong… he can't! He looked so happy before-before when he was hugging_ her _! He can't want to die… no… he's always so goofy and carefree!_

 ** _But he isn't, is he?_** Came the dark thought as her eyes widened as her hands moved to desperately wipe away the tears forming in her eyes. _He hasn't been happy for a long time, has he? And it's all because of me… all because of what I did to him… but! But he doesn't care! He doesn't give a damn about me! So, why… why am I like this… why do I feel so_ afraid _and worried when it must be lie… It has to be a lie!... Please… Please let it be a lie…_ She begged as the images continued to flow, all of him. All of him, injured. All of him bloodied and broken. _All of him... ready to jump._

Coco's words echoed through her mind, what feelings did she mean? Hurt him again? But he'd tried to hurt her… that was what had happened, right? Her tired mind may have been able to give her an answer if it hadn't been so overtaxed already. If it hadn't been overloaded with terrified thoughts and images of a smiling, but very dead, boy she swore to herself that she hated. She hated how he made her feel. She hated how he made her heart feel like it was going to explode every time his eyes went dark. She hated that she was _afraid_ to be in his presence since the nightmares had started. She hated that he had said those words to her, and in return when she said those words to him, he had looked so empty. So hollow, like his world had come crashing down. She hated _him… **right?**_

Weiss's thoughts were interrupted once again as she felt a sharp pair of nails dig into her skin slightly as she was grabbed and raised off the ground, her body pinned against the wall, as Coco Adel held her up by her blouse, a fury as unending as the screaming storm written across her bloodthirsty face.

"Leave. Leave right fucking **now**. If I ever see you near him again, I will _end_ you Schnee" She was unceremoniously dropped as Coco took his hand gently, her eyes growing watery and tired for the briefest of moments before, with that Velvet girl taking his other one, she led him away. His body looking haggard and fragile… like he was made of glass and the slightest breath of wind would shatter him.

Weiss barely noticed an clearly extremely worried Ruby taking her hand as she lead her away, her instrument forgotten as all she could focus on was the new image that plagued her mind. The fact that Jaune, the second Coco had let go of him, had immediately grown those cold and lifeless eyes _she_ had caused…

She only noticed they were in a Bullhead as they lifting off the ground, the machine roaring into life yet it sounded so muted to her. Like a gentle thrum in the background, her mind wondering just what he was going to say until _she_ had interrupted him.

She didn't take notice of the fact they left the bullhead behind as Ruby led her down the path to their dorm, her mind focusing on the way he had looked when she spat those horrible words at him, like he just wanted to disappear… like he wanted to just be left alone… Just Like she had claimed she wanted him to do as _she_ came up to him and started to scream.

She only truly took notice of where she was, when she heard the click of their door shutting, her mind relaxing the tiniest amount, feeling safe in the familiar environment... if only it had lasted more than the briefest of moments.

She felt so weak and afraid… she felt like everything she never wanted to be again. She felt like she was a small girl again, hiding in her cupboard, hearing her father scream her name as he looked to 'discipline' her. Yet she felt an almost motherly warmth, something she had not felt since she was an extremely young girl, before her mother had been stolen by the bottle.

"It's okay, just lie down and have a little rest okay? I always thought taking a nap when your sad is a good way to clear your head. I'll be right here if you have a nightmare, alright? I won't leave this spot until you wake up and that's a Ruby promise!" she heard her best friend say with an incredibly strained joy in her voice, a voice that made it clear Ruby was trying to not break down herself…

Since when had she been the grown up one in this partnership?

Despite her words, and her presence at her bedside… Weiss's mind was filled with nightmares that night… and in each and every one… She did not kill Jaune Arc.

No.

Instead she sat there with a manic smile on her face as she watched him jump.

He jumped and jumped and jumped, each and every time her silent screams for him to stop falling on deaf ears as her mouth refused to move and she doubted any sound would come out even if they could.

But the worst part? The worst part was that this time... this time Jaune wasn't smiling...

* * *

Jaune sat down in Team CVFY's dorm, a numb feeling still flowing through his body despite the gentle hug of Velvet Scarlatina and the motherly fussing of Coco Adel as she went about, getting out his new clothes and trying to make him smile by saying how hot he was going to look, kicking Grimm ass in Forever Fall… he had tried to smile at her, he truly had, but he just couldn't.

He'd said it enough times but he truly just felt… numb…

He didn't feel the wind on his face as the bullhead took off, his body not even registering it enough to feel ill.

He barely felt Velvet's arms around him, she hadn't removed physical contact ever since… _it_ had happened.

It took Coco, taking his hands, the feel of her semblance once again trying to take away his pain, that he felt once more. And he wrenched his hands away as if she had scolded him with fire, but a fire he wished to protect. He couldn't blame it for burning him when it was just trying to keep him warm. It was _his_ fault for trying to take advantage of the fires kindness and steal more and more heat, uncaring for the fires needs and pain as he stole more and more…

It was always his fault.

"No… No… Coco, you need to stop… I can see how much you're hurting, you told me how much it hurt to see me like this… well that's how I feel every time I see you taking my pain away. You don't deserve to have to deal with my stupid feelings… Your happiness matters and all I seem to do is hurt you and Velvet-

"Jaune Arc" came the interrupting voice of Velvet herself, her eyes hard and her ears alert as she stared at him with an angry frown on her lips. "I am going to make myself _very_ clear, you are going to listen and not interrupt me with any of your self-deprecations. Is. That. Clear?" she all but commanded him, and he nodded almost instantly, his body acting on its own as his brain hadn't even have the time to process her words.

"Good" she said evenly, taking in a breath and increasing her grip on his hand and arm. " _You_ need to stop trying to stop _us_ helping you. You keep acting like you have no right to have either of us show you kindness, despite the fact you very much require it"

"Bu-" he made to say, but the near furious look the smaller girl gave him, shut him right up.

"You _do_ require it. You are a young man in pain and more importantly, you're one of my best friends and seeing you looking like that, seeing you _think_ those… things… makes it very clear to me that you require help. You're just too stubborn to admit it" she said, her voice becoming softer once more as she looked down at her feet, her bangs covering her eyes. "I get it, you know? I get feeling that your life is just one big mess, like nothing you do will matter and yet _anything_ you do will just make things worse. I get feeling like there's no hope left… that there's no way out and all you want is for the pain to stop… to stop feeling so… dead inside" she said, her voice going deathly quiet for a moment, her grip on him increasing yet her hand found Coco's. Clearly not for her semblance as Coco's expression didn't falter from a sad, yet happy, expression. No, she sought out her hand for the simple reason of comfort, a comfort he realised she was giving to him in turn. "But I found my light, I found my reason to keep on going and, I know we're not perfect and I'm afraid I wont be kissing you any time soon-" she said with a small chuckle that brought forth an even smaller one of his own. "-But I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we want to be there for you Jaune. Pyrrha too, you clearly mean the world to her and I can assure you, if she knew you were feeling like this, she would charge through hell and highwater just to make you smile again. Now, answer me this. Is Coco a child?" she questioned, and Jaune was thrust from thoughts of his partner to look at the rabbit Faunus with a perplexed expression.

It became clear she wasn't going to repeat herself, after a moment or two of looking at her expectant face, so he was forced to believe he had certainly heard her right.

"N-no…?" he answered and she smiled.

"Correct. Does she seem unable to think for herself and make her own choices?" she questioned again and once again he replied with 'no' Coco was anything but a person to need someone to make her mind up for her.

"So... Why do you think that she shouldn't be allowed to use her semblance to help you?"

"Be-because it hurts her!" he answered swiftly, looking at Coco to find her cocking an eyebrow a him, expecting him to elaborate, but it appeared Velvet wasn't ready to let him say it as she proceeded to flick him in the forehead.

"Yes. But once again she can make her own choices, don't think you're the only one that hates seeing her do this to herself, but if I could control anything Coco does, life would be a lot simpler. If she wants to help you-"

"Which I sure as hell do!" Coco added quickly, drawing a half-hearted glare from Velvet.

"-Then you should let her, alright?" she finished, smiling sweetly at him while she moved to place Coco's hand atop his own and this time he didn't pull away.

These two were some of his two best friends in the world… It was time he started to treat them like they were and just trust them… no matter how terrible he felt at letting Coco deal with his pain.

"Thank you… It's getting a little late, do you want us to call Pyrrha and get her to come grab you? Or we can walk you back to your dorm?" she questioned, her shy yet caring demeanour returning in mere moments.

"If you two could help me walk back to my dorm… I'd really appreciate it…" he said, he honestly didn't trust himself to be alone right now… the very thought of being alone terrified him for more than just the fact of it. He was scared of what his brain might come up with, when he had no one around to drown out that little voice he was doing his best to ignore.

Ten minutes later, they were outside his room with an angry looking Coco keeping a close eye on team RWBY's dorm room, when she had heard a muffled cry. It almost sounded like fear and he could already tell what it was…

 _Coward…._

No. He wouldn't listen… he wouldn't hurt Velvet or Coco like that… not like that…

When the door was opened, they looked in to see Pyrrha looking just as worried as Coco and Velvet had mere minutes ago.

"Jaune! I-… Coco said there had been a confrontation between you and Weiss in Vale and I got so worried, I-" she was stopped when he marched up to her and wrapped her in a hug full of all the emotions he could muster… Giving his partner, best friend and sister figure, all that he could give. Just to show her he was still here. And to give himself yet another reason to ignore that damn voice. To not hurt this girl who had always supported him... always gone out of her way to make him feel like he deserved to follow his dream... He couldn't hurt her like that...

"It's okay… I'm-I'm not… but I will be" he said, meaning every word. He would try to be better… try to make sure they never cried because of him ever again. "Can we talk about this in the morning?... I know it's kinda early, but I think I'll get an early night tonight" he said in a strained voice, begging her to understand he didn't want to let those emotions rise up once more.

Like the greatest partner that she was, Pyrrha understood and nodded at him with a bright smile full of relief and happiness.

"Of course… would… Would you like me to stay for a while? I can keep an eye on you in case anyone comes by and is a little noisy" she said in that sweet yet uncertain tone of hers, she used when she was a little nervous about saying something.

"I'd like that, Pyr..." he said quietly, before turning to both Coco and Velvet who were waiting by the door. "Thanks… for everything today… it means a lot. I promise I'll take your words to heart, I promise to do my best" he said quietly, being only slightly surprised when Coco and Velvet brought him into a hug that was as a warm and gentle as a soft summer breeze as the sun began to dip below to horizon.

"You better… You really do mean the world to us Jaune. If you need us, if you _ever_ need us… well you'll know where to find us. We're only a knock on the door away" Velvet said quietly, a soft smile playing across her lips.

"You heard her buster. I find out you let yourself get put back down in the dumps and there'll be hell to pay. Understand?" he nodded slightly and felt her body become ever so slightly less tense. "Good. Now! I wanna see pictures of you looking hunky in that new outfit of yours at Forever Fall as soon as you get back! I know more than a few people who will appreciate it" she added with a wink that weirdly sent Pyrrha redder than himself. He would have thought on it more if his brain hadn't been so exhausted... Instead he mentally shrugged before tightening his hold on the two girls for the briefest of moments before he let go and they separated from one another.

"Yes ma'am" he added jokingly, hoping to sound convincing as Coco snorted before punching him in the arm.

"Good. See ya later, kid. And remember. Don't. listen. To it." she said, going serious for but a moment before she grinned once more and took Velvet's hand and walking away to leave him to smile once more at Pyrrha before he collapsed on top of his bed.

At least in sleep, he only had his nightmares to deal with.


	16. Bloody Revelation

_**EDITED**_

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Bloody Revelation**

* * *

The morning was a quiet one in Team RWBY's dorm.

Blake sat quietly with a book, her gear already packed and her breakfast eaten with Yang long before either Ruby or herself were awake.

Yang was in the bathroom, having proclaimed quietly that she was going for a shower. They had yet to hear it turn on and instead muffled noises were heard, alongside the zipping of a bag. Apparently Yang wasn't going to pack inside the room… the thought of not having to see her until the last minute should have filled her with nothing but happiness. Instead it… it made her worried… her team was falling apart and she had caused it… she had promised to try and talk to the Blonde girl at some point but now, after all that had happened, Weiss was scared for what would happen… but she couldn't break her promise to Ruby… she just needed to be brave… that shouldn't have been as hard as it sounded right now.

There was no ecstatic joy from Ruby for the field trip to Forever Fall only a couple hours away. Instead she simply sat at her desk, loading ammunition into one of several cartridges with a tired expression causing Weiss even more guilt.

Her dreams had once again been plagued by visions of him… this time though, he had not been smiling. No, instead he looked absolutely, positively terrified.

Terrified of her…

Why? She didn't have an answer for it and it frustrated her further as to why her mind had suddenly decided to make her dreams all the more terrifying. To make him scream out her name in terror, only to have him jump just as she reached him. His begging words for her to leave him alone plaguing her even after he fell.

She had barely slept once again and it infuriated her that he still had this effect on her!

… and yet, despite her hatred for him, despite her knowledge that he had deeply hurt her… she was finding it harder and harder to actually say that she did… That look in his eyes… that look of pure loss hopelessness… they looked just hers did when she was younger, wondering why mother was always in the wine cellar and why father always seemed so angry, why he never wanted to be around them.

Jaune Arc was an uncaring and heartless boy, he toyed with her feelings and made her feel like _this_.

He was a monster.

 _Is he?_

Yet… what did that make her? She was the one to make that monster look so truly broken, without a doubt, that had not been any lie he was trying to pull or a mask to cover his pleasure at her upset… no, it had been pure and utter fear and sadness. A sadness so deep she could see it begin to swallow him up into its depths.

What was she to make him want to…

 _You are the monster. You put those words into his head. You're the whispering words that haunted you when you realised mother and father didn't care about you. You're everything you swore you never would be._

Weiss couldn't bring herself to deny it… she had no idea why she had reacted as hotly as she could, where the best action would have been to simply walk past him and show him that their little display didn't bother her…

The subdued words of Ruby Rose, trying her best to sound cheerful despite the gloom hanging over them all.

"Right! We better start heading down. Weiss, do you have all the dust you'll need?" she questioned, her smile turning to her and already looking strained.

Weiss gently placed a hand on the pouch containing the vials she would need with a very weak smile back at her leader. Nodding at her gently, Ruby turned to Blake and before she could ask, Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud to show it was working perfectly and that the problem she'd been having with the clip was now gone. She did smile at Ruby but it turned to scowl the second she saw that Weiss herself was looking at her. It was there for the briefest of moments before Blake schooled it back into her usual neutral expression.

She had been like that ever since Ruby had informed them of what had happened, in brief naturally, she clearly didn't want to have to explain every little detail to Blake and, though she didn't look in her direction, Yang.

She didn't know what she had done, but now Weiss had managed to upset another person and…. And it hurt… it hurt so much…

It was then that Ruby looked at the door to the bathroom… where Yang still was.

She saw it, the hesitation in her actions… she clearly didn't want to have to go in there alone… While Weiss was certain that Ruby was no longer angry at Yang, she must haves still felt confused and hurt over what her sisters actions had caused.

Though, with that steely determination that Ruby had come to be known for, the girl made to head for that closed door.

Only for Yang to walk out milliseconds before Ruby's hand touched the knob, nearly knocking the younger girl over much to the surprise of not only Yang, who's eyes were rimmed red and raw, but Ruby as well as she nearly fell over from the force with which Yang opened the door.

"Ruby! I-…" Yang stopped herself mid-sentence, her outstretched hand retreating once she saw that Ruby was both okay and had her head bowed to towards Weiss, seemingly unable to look her sister in the eye despite her earlier courage.

Weiss could see it, Ruby had been hurt by that door hitting her, but she didn't seem to want to show it in front of Yang. Probably knowing it would bring out her motherly tendencies.

"Is… Is Ember Celica functioning properly?..." she asked quietly, curling in on herself as her sister moved her hand towards her once more.

Taking back her hand with a hurt expression, Yang turned her head away and replied "Yeah, remember you telling me it didn't sound right a couple weeks ago turns out it was because there was a build-up of dust residue in in both barrels… You were right again… sis" she said, a weak smile on her face as she turned to Blake.

"I fancy getting an early breakfast, you two can finish up here while me and Blake head down for some breakfast, sound good to you Blakey?" while the question sounded casual, it was obvious that Yang was begging her to agree, and agree she did as Blake stood up and nodded at her saying a goodbye to specifically Ruby, she followed Yang out the door and left the two of them alone… It was a deathly still silence that followed the closing of the door, Ruby sighing quietly before she went back to counting rounds, placing them in their respective slots and cartridges.

The silence carried on for what seemed forever until Ruby's phone pinged, Weiss's eyes catching the briefest image of a mop of blonde hair before her head snapped around once more, her heart rate sharp and the thumping, crushing beat back in full swing as she attempted to control herself… she… she was… scared? Why… why would she be scared? It was only an image of him and yet, with the smallest sign that his voice might possibly come through that scroll, Weiss froze up like a frightened child… she hated this feeling… she hated what he did to her…

"Weiss?" Came Ruby's voice and she forced herself to calm as she looked at her partner, who smiled at her with that same, reassuring smile she always gave her. "… Pyrrha said that it's time to head down to start getting ready… we kinda missed breakfast but I packed us some snacks so we won't hungry!" she said with what she seemed to think was her usual cheer, though it clearly wasn't, Weiss didn't bring it up. Her mind focusing on why Ruby had lied… she knew it wasn't Pyrrha who called.

Weiss let out a small exhalation through her nostrils as it clicked. Of course Ruby would try and do anything to stop Weiss getting upset… that was her nature after all.

"Thank you Ruby…" she said, moving to follow her out when a thought occurred to her… it made her realise there was something she needed to say now, or she would never get another chance. "Ruby?" she called, her friend stopping to turn to her with a friendly, if questioning, smile. "I… I wanted to say… thank you… for being my friend" she said quietly, hoping her cheeks weren't burning up in embarrassment.

"Hey, no worries Weiss! We're partners after all! I'll always be there for you, besides… I know you will be for me as well" she said, her cheer returning for the briefest of moments before she went out of the room, followed closely by Weiss… while she was covered by the storm that had entered her, Weiss knew that as long as Ruby was in her life... she would have someone to trust... and that brought a smile to her face.

* * *

The trip to Forever Fall had been a quiet one for both his own team and team RWBY, Yang and Blake had kept to one side of the ship at the back, the two had been talking like nothing was wrong, but he could see it. There was a tension between them now, something odd and unsaid that made his brow scrunch up in confusion before old memories of his life with his family surfaced. Of his seven sisters, Rouge, Violette, Midi and Minuit were straight and gods help any boy they had ever brought home. Bleu was Asexual and Aromantic, preferring her machines and games to anything else, though she was always affectionate towards her family as best as his dorky sister could be. Then... there was Vert and Saphron. Vert was openly bi-sexual and wasn't afraid to show it, he was also pretty sure that she was in a polyamorous relationship with a guy and woman at the moment while Saphron was married to his sister-in-law, Terra. The funny thing was... when he looked at the two of them, he couldn't but be reminded of his two sisters. When they were younger, Vert had always gotten blushy around guys _and_ girls whenever they hugged her and had never been shy about showing her... appreciation for someone she found attractive, no matter their gender. Saphron, on the other hand, had been as bad with girls as he had been and had surprised his poor sister-in-law by, badly, singing her favourite song to her in an attempt to ask her out and Terra had apparently found it cute and funny enough to agree.

What was weird was that, well, when he looked at Yang and Blake, he couldn't help but be reminded of them.

When Blakes hand cupped Yang's in a display of comfort to her, Yang whipped her hand away in a panic with a massive blush coming over her face. Blake, with a hurt expression on her face, near pulled her hand away but Yang seemed to get her courage and quickly took it again saying that she'd just surprised her is all, laughing awkwardly.

Then, a few minutes later, Yang stretched in her seat and he saw Blake's eyes dart to her tensed muscles before she snapped them away with a confused and annoyed expression on her face. Her face had a small flush on it, that quickly vanished when she shook her head and went back to a talking to her... that odd tension still hanging in the air.

It couldn't be...

His attention was grabbed before he could complete the thought when he saw another person he had caused so much trouble for... someone he had hurt with his own selfishness...

Nothing would seem out of the ordinary with JNPR's other male member to anyone who didn't know him. But Jaune did know him, and what he saw worried him ever so slightly. His hair was slightly out of sorts, his eyes unusually focused and the usual flatness of his lips was now tight and threatening to turn into a deep-set frown. Ren was weirdly stoic as well. Not the usual stoic where it was more normal to see than any other expression he pulled.

No… this was forced, he was forcing his emotions down, to the point where every so often he would see him lose the colour in his body for the briefest of moments when it looked like he was about to simply get up and run over to the other half of the problem and embrace her.

Sitting quietly, with her head down and her energetic nature muted to that of a shy girl just trying to not be noticed. And that was exactly what she seemed to be trying to do.

Usually she would be going around the airship looking at all the pretty sights or simply talking to anyone she felt like talking to, which would mainly be the pained looking Ren, instead she continued to sit quietly. She didn't move under her own power, only the gentle rocking of the airship caused her form to shift left and right ever so slightly.

This was a pain he couldn't bear to look at as he quickly diverted his eyes upon seeing the redness in her eyes accompanied by the wetness beneath them that showed she was trying her best not to burst into tears at what must have seemed like miles between her and the boy she loved. He knew she'd deny it if he ever confronted her on it, but what else could she be? The way she looked at him, the way she acted whenever a girl she didn't trust would talk to him... just Nora in general... it screamed love... and now she would never be able to give herself the confidence to actually _act_ on it... all because of him...

His eyes settled on a smiling Pyrrha and, for once he was able to say with utmost certainty that he knew what she was thinking. It was clear she had seen the exact same things his tired eyes had seen, and it was also painfully clear she was only smiling to try and cheer him up at his far more obvious pain… it was just like Pyrrha to always think of others before her self and it would have been something he would have chided her for, if he could muster up the courage to open his mouth. Her attempts to cheer him up were also bolstered by Coco and Velvet who had apparently decided to tell Pyrrha what had gone through his mind later that night… a cold whisper hiding a blade that, for the briefest of moments, had seemed so inviting.

It was clear she knew from the fact she had slammed him into a wall that night, her voice raising in an unusual display of fearful rage. It hadn't been anywhere near as terrifying as Coco had been, but it still haunted him to see that look in her eyes… Pyrrha should never look scared and yet she had looked absolutely terrified in that moment, and it had taken him swearing by the Arc name that he would never think those thoughts again and letting her hold him for what seemed to be hours, to get her to calm down. That night she hadn't smiled at him in that usual 'I'm glad to see you' smile. Instead she had given him a smile that simply showed her utter relief at his promise. A smile that said with his simple words, he had taken away all her worries and fears for him… it had honestly been touching.

 _But you still listen, don't you? you worthless pile of-_ he banished the thoughts before they could truly begin. He had a promise to keep. A promise to three people that were like family to him. Breaking it would be like breaking a promise to his sisters...

Giving her a smile of his own, if it was a little weak she didn't comment, he turned to see the one person he wanted to talk to the most… and another that he was still trying to convince himself he hated…

The look in her eyes when Coco had found out his dark thoughts… it was like she had been shot, the shock, the realisation… and the fear… she had looked so scared when she had heard Coco. Like her entire world had come crumbling down around her and she didn't know what to do anymore…

She looked like a scared little girl and, for a small moment he had wanted to comfort her… the girl who had caused him so much pain, the girl who had helped to make the situation what it was now… the girl he had fallen in love with… he had wanted to take her hand, to pull her into him and take away all her pain. Even as Velvet had wrapped her arms around him, he had let the thought of pulling away and running to her cross his mind…

Why did he care though? Why did he give even the slightest damn about her well-being? She had been the one to ruin what had been such a nice day. She had been the one to make them all upset and start the argument. What had he even done!? He had simply hugged Velvet and had smiled at her when she had come up screaming and raving about him liking to hurt her! Her eyes were tired and bagged, hair a mess compared to the usual beauty it held. Her dress was ever so slightly creased and her hands had trembled… why had the sight of her looking so broken upset him so much when her words were full of such venom.

Then there was the anger he had felt when Coco had grabbed her, shouted in her face.

It had been an odd feeling but he remembered the distinct urge to grab her arms and wrench her away from Weiss for the briefest of moments. It had quickly disappeared as soon as it came, but it had still been there and it scared him... Was she really able to still effect him like this? Was she really able to just make him feel so... so _angry._

He knew the last time he had felt that anger was when Sky had talked about her like she was worthless and pathetic… it scared him for the implications that meant…

The landing of the aircraft and the settling of his stomach which, thanks to Velvet providing him some stomach medication, had barely troubled him at all on the trip to the forest around them and brought him out of his troubled thoughts long enough to once again push them aside for now… once again, like usual, he was putting his problems aside because _he was too much of a coward to deal with them_ … once again the dark thoughts had invaded his mind and once again he fought them away… as long as he had Pyrrha beside him, he had the strength to keep his demons at bay.

Once the doors opened, and they disembarked, Jaune was able to take in the sight that was Forever Fall.

In a word, it was… beautiful.

Leaves red as roses filtered light through them and gave the air a warm, red glow about it in an almost ethereal manner. Bark as white as freshly fallen snow… His eyes darted to the silent Heiress… who wasn't even looking at the sights around him. Instead she had kept her eyes firmly on the floor, only occasionally looking at Ruby who was doing her best to try and cheer her partner up. Just like good old Ruby to try and be that little ray of sunshine in the world and it brought a true smile to his face.

It then occurred to him that he was once again focusing on the girl that he supposedly hated… that he _did_ hate and had every right to, after all that she had done to him… right?... was he really any better? He had clearly been a catalyst in her current state and he had to admit to himself that it hurt him to see and hear it.

Annoyingly, he had been so focused on the girl he surely hated, that he had apparently missed Miss Goodwitch's speech as to what they were doing. He was just lucky he had Pyrrha to rely on. He had his partner who had clearly listened to what she had said, despite her having apparently taken note of his wandering thoughts, as she had placed a hand on his shoulder with a concerned look on her face.

Smiling at her and knowing she knew she would have to explain it to him, he looked at his fractured, practically _shattered_ , team.

Ren was looking directly ahead, his eyes focused intently in front of him as if the trees directly ahead were the most interesting thing in the world. But he knew the truth. Ren was in pain and it wasn't a pain anyone but the girl he loved could heal… yet he couldn't, could he? Because of what he and Weiss had said to each other… because of what Nora and Yang had done to force them together and caused them to say those words… he couldn't.

It was crystal clear that it was what he wished so much, with all that was going on… but, according to Pyrrha which he had explained it in length to and given permission for her to tell Jaune himself… Ren had asked Nora to apologise to both him an Weiss. He had reluctantly admitted that he was angry at her… that he was upset with what she had done but had made it clear that if she at least tried to apologise to them, that he would forgive her… it was a tough love moment and it must have been driving him mad waiting for her to do just that…

Nora was standing a good few paces away, holding a jar in her hands that she was clutching tightly to herself, she suddenly snapped her head up and had a beaming smile on her face. She looked at the trees and remarked about what the sap would taste like for some reason, her eyes wandering in every direction that wasn't him or Ren. It was so obvious that she putting on a brave face that he almost would have preferred if she had simply been honest with her emotions… it would have made it easier to resist the urge to take her into a hug and say how sorry he was… if it hadn't been for what happened on Saturday, he would have apologised to her that night… he'd had it all planned out. He would call his sister and ask her for her recipe for those pancakes that had syrup in the middle that was hardened enough to not soak through the pancake itself… it would have been a surprise as he walked through the dorm room with a plateful, as soon as he knew Ren had made sure to vacate the room with Pyrrha and leaving Nora alone for the briefest of moments before he would come in, offer her some and then quickly set it down as she would no doubt rush up to hug him and cry into his chest like the little sister he saw her as… like the girl he had hurt just as much as she had hurt him…

But then that argument had happened… when he had emotionally shut down for a while, apparently Nora _had_ come up to try and talk to him but he hadn't even realised she was there and she must have taken it as him ignoring her as she had gone back to the scared, shy girl who quietly croaked out an apology before running off… it had hurt so much to know he could have talked to her… that he could have tried to fix his broken team…

No more though.

No. He would talk to her… he would talk to her now… he would try and mend the rift. It was the least he could do.

Was he scared? Terrified. Was he ready for this? Not in the slightest, but he needed to do it.

With a deep breath he said her name, and quite possibly shocked her to her very core.

"Nora?" he said, much to the open shock of the girl, Pyrrha and Ren who's eyes widened briefly before the barest hint of a smile played across his features. "Could… Would you mind coming with me a second? I'd like to talk to you…" he said, glad his nerves held out for the moment, as he tried not to first freak out and get too scared to say anything and second, to not break out into a huge smile when her saw her dull eyes light up and the barest of smiles cross her lips.

"O-Oh… okay, Jaune" she said, her voice sounding hopeful for the first time in a long time. She followed him a few metres ahead of both Ren and Pyrrha, seeing team RWBY disappearing into the trees, Blake and Yang going in one direction while Ruby and… and _Weiss_ went in the other. Though he did see her taking glances at Yang- no. He had no time to be thinking on what his stupid brain was trying to do to him. He had to focus on Nora. He had to focus on his friend… the friend he claimed wasn't actually his friend anymore…

As soon as they were far enough away, Jaune turned to her with a small smile that she looked at with a shocked expression, before returning it with one of her own, carrying the hint of what was her normal, happy about everything, smile.

It eased the thunderous beating in his chest, turning it into a gentle rhythm it hadn't known for a long while.

Shockingly, or not so considering she actually looked truly happy for the first time in a long time, Nora was the first to speak.

"Ummm… I like your new clothes…" she said quietly, her voice gentle and tender, like she was speaking to a family member she hadn't seen for a long time… maybe that was what he was to her? A family member she'd fallen out with and was finally getting to speak to? He liked to think that was true… "They look good on you" she said with a bit more cheer in her voice and he couldn't help but look at himself.

He had been quite proud of his choice and even Coco had agreed, which he felt was a big compliment on her part.

He wore a deep, dark brown coat that curled around his tall figure. It reached down to his shins, splitting at the back so he could move easier considering that Coco had almost literally drilled the fact into his head that you never wanted to take a hit from a Grimm if you didn't have to. She had shown him a video of an Ursa easily smashing a boulder... it had been a bit of eyeopener. Deep, and dark gold colouring trailed over his shoulder and the base of his coat in a swirling pattern that flowed like it truly was liquid gold across the surface and brought attention to the fine stitching of the coat and, if the light hit it just right, the pattering seemed to glow. The coat came with a high collar that covered up his neck and upwards to the point that it brushed against his cheeks and gently curled outwards till it stiffened to hang like the collar of a shirt. Lapels folded out from the open front and were accompanied by three buttons of pure cherry wood and their respective holes on the opposite side for them to button up if it got chilly.

While he had mainly gone for it for just how nice it looked, he'd also chosen it for the fact that it had armour weave woven into the inner lining that could block smaller rounds from gunfire and even survive a slash or bite from a Beowulf, though anything with enough muscle would still tear it should it get a claw or tooth caught in it. Frankly he didn't mind as he was pretty good at dodging now thanks to having to deal with the adorable ferocity that was Velvet Scarlatina. He also had his usual armour on, though Coco had demanded to know why he didn't just upgrade it for something better… truth be told he had simply gotten used to it. He liked the way it fit, the way it felt and just the look of it all, the shoulder guards were on the outside off his coat and had been positioned to show off the golden patterning in all its glory without sacrificing any of the protective nature the armour provided. The chest and back plates were positioned beneath the coat and, in his opinion, made the coat look all that much cooler.

Beneath the coat, to offset the fact he looked like he was trying too hard to 'look edgy' as Coco had put it, was a fairly light coloured dress shirt of a cream white colour with blue accents around the collar and, despite not being on show, cuffs that apparently brought out his eyes according to Pyrrha. Around his hands was a pair of brown, leather fingerless gloves that no longer carried on up his arm and had lost that small amount of armour underneath them.

Where the shirt tucked into his new trousers, was a new and improved belt that was much thicker and wider than his previous pair. It was made of a deep brown leather with an oval buckle made from quality steel that would never rust nor would it break easily. Instead of a secondary belt to hold his sword in place while the main one held his pants up, this new belt had a small pair of leather loops that he had slid his sheath through to keep it in place and it frankly felt a lot better. He no longer had to spend extra time just to take off two belts instead of one and he also didn't have to suffer through chaffing when the secondary belt began to rub against him as he moved.

Wearing a proper, huntsman grade, pair of loose jeans that were a deep stormy blue and had a multitude of places where he could store items and other areas where he could attach a pouch if he needed to. He had done just that, in fact. Upon his hip, on the left side just above his pocket, was a medium sized pouch that now contained both his airsickness pills, his scroll and a few energy bars if he got hungry. While he initially been against it, saying why use a pouch when he had all these pockets, Coco and Velvet had pointed out that it was a lot easier to break something that was tightly packed into a pocket instead of a cushioned and mobile pouch. He had begrudgingly agreed, though now he could see their point and frankly enjoyed the look of it.

Covering his feet was a pair of heavy duty, steel toe-capped, boots that were a calf brown and went up to about half way up his shins and were tightly tied to his legs making walking a lot more comfortable than when he had simply worn a pair of old sneakers from home.

But the piece that truly put the whole thing together was what was beneath his afore mentioned belt.

A sash was wrapped around his waste and covered from just above his best and down to just before his pockets with what was left hanging down his side and, if he wasn't wearing the coat, would gently wave in the breeze around them.

It was a rosy red with a powdery effect that didn't make it look too plain or too flashy.

Petting the fine silk, he turned to Nora and smiled at gently… despite the anger he had held towards her… despite his cruel words to her… he had really missed talking to Nora. She was someone who just brought out the smile in everyone she talked to… to see her looking so broken and hollow… it had been horrible.

She still looked worried and a little scared, like he would just turn around and say he hated her… that he really did need better friends and leave her alone again… leave her alone to cry once again.

Never again.

He would never abandon his team ever again.

"Heh… thanks… Coco and Velvet helped me pick it out, though I used my weird brain to help them out and got this as the end result. Gotta say, never expected my knowledge of woman's clothing would help but here we are" he said with a quiet laugh that got Nora to let out a small one of her own, her walking getting less stiff and her posture straightening the more he talked.

"Shoulda guessed that one Jauney" she said, her eyes widening for the briefest moments, apparently worried she may not be okay to talk to him like that yet, thankfully she saw his smile hadn't wavered. In fact, it had grown at her words and her own worry seemed to disappear. She turned her head to look at the floor and took in a deep breath. "Listen… ummm… I'm… I'm so sorry about what me and Ya-"

"It's okay Nora" Jaune interrupted, seeing her shocked expression, he decided to continue his line of thought. "Well, it's _not_. We're not really okay right now. But I think we can both agree that both of us messed up. Difference is, that you did it to try and help me where as all I did was be horrible to you. This isn't me bringing you aside to cry over it all with you like the big wuss I am since all that noise would bring every Grimm in a ten mile radius down on us-" that brought a true giggle out of Nora. "-But… well, this is me saying that when we get back, you and me are gonna have a nice talk, eat some pancakes, cry and then you and me are gonna invite Ren and Pyrrha to watch that new Spruce Willis film we've been meaning to watch, that alright with you?" he smiled happily, truly happily… he had done it and been brave… he had talked to her and her beaming smile was the best thing in the world to him right now.

"I'd like that, Jauney" she said, her eyes shimmering with happy tears and voice filled with joy and happiness, though lacking her distinct hyperactive nature. This was more mellow and simply happy for what seemed the longest time. Suddenly Nora looked a bit sheepish and lowered her head before whispering "Ummm… can I do something? I promise nothing bad, it's just… I feel like I need to"

Confused, Jaune simply nodded, making sure she saw his non-verbal response.

As if by magic, he was suddenly enveloped in a hug from Nora.

This was not one of her usual back breaking hugs either… no… this was _warm_ and _gentle_. Tender and kind yet filled with all the emotions Nora had buried deep down all this time was finally letting go of. Stunned for a moment, Jaune felt her body shake gently against his and quickly, but gently, placed his own arms around her and held her close. For how long, he didn't care in the slightest. Nora needed him and he realised he needed her, letting his own emotions pour into her as he hugged his friend and sister in all but blood.

After a while, they parted, both with teary eyes and both with large smiles that threatened to split their faces in two.

"Thanks, Jauney… ummm… Do you wanna help me get some sap? I'd do it myself, but I don't trust myself not to eat it" she grinned unashamedly and he chortled happily right along with her.

"Sorry, I got someone else I need to speak to… Don't think it'll go as easily as with you but… I gotta do it" he said, and Nora nodded in understanding. "Besides, Ren's been watching us for the past five minutes and I'm pretty sure he'd like to speak to you now" he said, grinning a little when she turned a little pink in the cheeks.

Waving to Ren, Jaune walked off the see Nora look a little hesitant for a moment, before Ren held up a jar full of the weirdly tasty looking sap and quickly exchanged it with Nora's empty one as the girl began to eat it with glee.

The sight made him happy… he had helped to fix the rift in his team and, though it would take time and patience, he was sure that they would eventually end up just like they were before this all happened, maybe even stronger for it all.

* * *

Weiss stood next to Ruby as she attempted to stab her spigot into a tree that clearly had much tougher bark than the girl had thought, the way her face morphed into an adorable pout brought a smile to her face.

She looked so much more like the Ruby she knew, the adorable and excitable prodigy with a weapon obsession.

The thought was both sweet and bitter… Weiss missed that Ruby… she missed the dynamic her team shared as well. She missed the fact that by now Ruby would have made some silly remark that Weiss would have felt compelled to correct only to get that silly grin of Ruby's that told her she wasn't really bothered by her little mistake.

Instead the girl wore a near constant frown that she would immediately try to hide if it was pointed out to her by Weiss herself or Blake…

She missed how she would right now probably be deep in an intellectual conversation with Blake about a recent book of hers that _wasn't_ one of her little 'romance' stories. It would probably be something intellectual and profound that would bring them into a heated debate on what the true meaning behind certain chapters were.

Now Blake seemed to be rather angry at her for some reason… Was she really deciding that now she was truly entirely in the wrong? Or that something had happened to cause a sudden problem with Yang?… was that also her fault?

Thinking on the brawler… Yang had put herself a fair distance from the rest of them, though she always kept a watchful eye on Ruby. Keeping an eye out for danger.

Normally the girl would have made some horrible pun then argue that it was funny when all three of them groaned and boo'd her. The entire group would be groaning from the barrage of horrific humour before Weiss would snap and threaten to throw her jar of sap at Yang's hair just to shut her up. It naturally would have worked if it had happened…

Instead the girl was isolating herself from everyone, standing under the obvious lie of enjoying the view and keeping a eye out for Grimm.

… Weiss knew this was her chance… this was her best chance to talk to Yang to both heal the rift between them, but also between her sister as well. The two had been near attached at the hip before the entire mess she found herself in, now they were acting more akin to strangers and the sight worried her intensely.

But… she was scared… no. She would fully admit that she was _terrified_ that if she tried to talk to Yang it would only make things worse. Somehow, she would end up ruining a chance that had literally presented itself to her.

Maybe… maybe it would be better to wa-

"Ow!" yelped Ruby as the spigot slipped in her hand and she ended up punching the tree at an awkward angle before shaking her hand vigorously. Weiss' eyes instinctively moved to Yang who was moving on pure instinct towards her sister. The second Ruby noticed her approach though, she acted like it wasn't bothering her anymore, despite the fact that her aura was still flaring. She mumbled a quick response that she was fine and went straight back to trying to put the darn thing in the tree again.

Yang took a step back, looking almost physically hurt at her sisters response, her bright lilac eyes turning a little dull before she went back to 'looking at the scenery' though noticeably further away now.

That made Weiss's mind up for her.

This needed to end, or things would never get better. There was also the fact that all the negativity they would be generating would draw in any Grimm near enough the sense it.

Taking a calming breath, Weiss moved over and simply stood by her side. She noticed the rather shocked look in her eyes that was quickly hidden as Yang forced a smile on her face.

She didn't speak to her, but Weiss could tell Yang was uncomfortable. It was in the way her fingers twitched, the nervous tap in her foot that she was trying to hide behind her humming a gentle tune and the nervous glances she would get when Yang thought she thought wasn't looking.

It was clear that this was never going to happen unless Weiss pushed the issue herself.

"Yang?" she said, her voice seeming suddenly far more tired to her than it had five minutes ago.

She watched her breath hitch, her eyes flying open as her head turned to her in shock.

"I… I think we need to talk, would you agree?" she said quietly, afraid her nervousness would betray her if she dared to raise her voice.

The stupefied look on Yang's face was quickly exchanged for one of worry and perhaps a little fear.

"We-well, only if you want to! Uh… wh-what did you wanna talk about?" she said with a nervousness Weiss had never seen in her and it was frankly another good reason to do this now. Yang never had been nervous about things like this, she never looked this scared about a conversation.

"I do, and I think you do too. This… Situation we've found ourselves in needs to end. So, I came here to say…" the words caught in her throat for a moment, but Weiss forced her pride down and continued, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. "I'm sorry"

"I know, I really messed up an-… what?" was the response Weiss got and frankly it actually made her laugh a little at how absurd the notion of her apologising for anything must have seemed.

"I imagine you thought you'd hear something different, maybe me demanding you to apologise to me for everything? Demanding you stay away from me until graduation?... well… I am sorry to disappoint you" she said with as much mirth as she could muster, watching the cogs in Yang's brain turn before it finally seemed to click together.

"But I'm the one who messed up!" she replied, her voice rising to just below a shout and Weiss took note of the fact Blake was no longer paying as much attention to the gathering of sap, the quiet grunting of Ruby as she still tried in vain to finally puncture the tree stopping altogether.

"I am aware that you made a mistake. But the problem lies in the fact that, while your attempt to help solved nothing as the situation was beyond helping… you at least did it out of care for my well being and that of the teams… I do greatly appreciate it… whereas all I did was ruin any chance of the team going back to normal and caused you utter torment between yourself and Ruby" Weiss took note of how Yang's eyes flicked to her sister at her words before coming right back to her, seemingly at a loss for words. "… I'm tired Yang… I haven't slept well for days due to circumstances beyond my control, though I'm sure you must have both seen and heard it on the rare occasions you were forced to come into that silent room earlier than usual…" she admitted, Yang turning to her with concerned eyes.

"Yeah... yeah, I did… though I'm gonna take a guess and say that there's not much chance of finding out what they're about, huh?" she asked, and Weiss let out a cheerless laugh and shook her head, turning to Yang with a serious expression.

"I'm afraid not, but I do know that letting go of my anger towards you when you were just trying to help me will more than likely help… I am aware it sounds selfish, but I want to clear my conscience… I want to apologise to you for what I did to you"

"Weiss… what… but I _did_ mess up, I hurt you and, let's face it, I'm more in the wrong than you! You were hurt by what I did because I should have left all things the hell alone and just let you and Jaune figure things… out…" she trailed off but the spike of pain that lanced through Weiss's chest and the heavy beating that joined it must have been more obvious as she thought, as Yang winced and apologised once more. "Sorry… see there I go again, not thinking and messing up again! All I do is make things worse for you!" she growled, turning away to pull at her hair when Weiss grabbed her arm and gently pulled her around and did something she never thought she would willingly do in her life.

She pulled Yang into a hug.

It was a tight hug that had Weiss linking her arms behind Yang's back and pulling herself fully into what Yang would most likely have referred to as a bear hug.

Stunned into silence once more, Weiss spoke. Though her voice was muffled by Yang's clothes, she knew the brawler would hear her loud and clear.

"I know… I know you made a mistake but I'm the one who reacted so harsh and cruel to you… I _slapped_ you Yang… If I had taken the time to clear my thoughts and calm down, I hope that I would have reacted far more calmly. Instead I was so full of pain and anger that I chose to lash out at the first person to catch my eye… meaning you. I was horrible to you Yang and have caused the rift in our team… I am to blame here… not you. _But,_ seeing as I know you well enough to know that you won't allow that to happen… what do you say we finish this trip and when we get back, you and I can talk about it?... I am aware the rift in our team will not heal after a single day, but I hope it will at least put us on the right track… would that be okay?" she asked, her nerves finally getting the better of her as she pulled away and her head dipped to the floor, unable to look Yang directly in the face.

A small chuckle and sniffle were quickly followed by "Sounds good to me, Weiss… guess I just need to fix things between me and Ruby now…" she said, missing out that she also needed to sort out whatever was going on between herself and Blake, a small frown playing across her lips. Weiss rolled her eyes and pushed the brawler in the direction of her sister, much to her shocked surprise as Yang turned to look at her in further disbelief and a little fear.

"Then go and sort it out, I imagine if you try now you may get better results as I'm afraid our leader is _terrible at eavesdropping_ " Weiss added with a small amount of humour she hadn't been able to muster for the longest time… she missed being able to smile and truly mean it… she also enjoyed watching Ruby stiffen slightly before she hurriedly returned to her work.

Yang looked at her, her face showing obvious signs of hesitation. That was quickly snuffed out when Ruby let out another pained hiss that got her sister moving, once more, without thinking. This time it was different however, for this time Ruby didn't try to hide her pain when Yang approached. Instead she growled and called the spigot stupid, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

Yang approached cautiously, her movements direct and easy to spot by Ruby as she moved to her sisters' side. Then, with all the grace of a dying Nevermore, Yang asked "Would… erm… would you like some help with that?" the question was awkward and the silence that followed made Weiss worry that Ruby wouldn't respond. Then with an equally meek reply, Ruby said "Okay…" the words were just as short as her previous answers to Yang's words had been, but this time, Ruby looked at her sister and barest hint of a smile played across her face.

Things were still going to be awkward between the two for a while, but Weiss had at least helped… and that was something she could take pride in.

Walking past the two and towards Blake, Weiss decided to be even braver.

"I'm going to look ahead, see if I can find any other good trees to go for… Would you mind telling those two when you get the chance? I'll be heading north-east in case you need to quickly find me" she said, not expecting a response but also holding onto a small hope that Blake would reply instead of just looking angrily at her like she had been since Saturday.

She was frightened that she had made another problem in team RWBY and was desperate to rectify it.

Her hope was rewarded when Blake sighed, her body losing the tension it seemed to hold, and turned to her and a ghost of a smile crossed her face as she replied "Sure, just don't get lost okay? Ruby told me about your sense of direction in training" she joked with her usual amount of sarcasm, much to Weiss's relief, despite the playful growl she emitted.

"I'll get you for that one, Belladonna" she said, rolling her eyes and levelling a challenging look at her teammate who let out a little huff of a chuckle before returning to her book.

As Weiss walked away, Blake spoke up once more "You'll be okay on your own, right?..." the question was left in the air, Weiss feeling a little touched that the usually aloof girl was actually worried about her.

Blake had been a little cold towards her early on, but that was to be expected… Weiss was willing to admit that she had been a little harsh on Blake, though she would readily argue that Blake had been just as so to her, upon their first meeting. They had never been really all that close until all this mess started and Blake had begun to show a more caring side towards her, taking time out of her day to make sure she was okay… it was nice to see she hadn't ruined that somehow with how Blake had begun to act angrily towards her once more.

With a smile she truly meant, Weiss replied "Yes, I will be fine. I'm a huntress in training after all! I can handle a few Grimm. Besides, I am fairly certain Ruby has some 'bestie' sense that would tell her if I was in trouble" the joke actually got a laugh out of her stoic friend who turned to look happily at the scene of the two sisters before them. They weren't talking, but the tense atmosphere was so much less now, that it was barely even there. It was more akin to being a little awkward, than anything else.

Weiss walked on, her tired limbs, eyes and mind all that much lighter as she walked through the forest, finally taking in the beautiful scenery… she had another problem to face in the form of the ginger berserker of team JNPR, but she knew there would be no chance of going there without seeing… with seeing…

 _You can't even say his name, you pathetic little girl. Are you going to pretend he's as **dead** in the waking world as he is in your mind now?_

Weiss clenched her shuddering hand into a fist as she slowed slightly, losing that light feeling as quickly as it came, closing her eyes and forcing the thoughts from her mind… she didn't want to think of _him…_ all that anger she had unloaded onto _him_ … all what felt like righteous fury to her for once again proving he never cared about her when he was fooling about with _girl_ … it had all turned to dust when she heard those fateful words… that he had seriously been thinking about… the thought had made her feel sick… sick and terrified as she stared into those dead eyes of his.

 _You're fault…_

Shaking her head, Weiss continued on her way. Things were looking up for the first time in a long time, she would not allow it to be ruined by her traitorous thoughts. She found a decent enough tree and went about it in a way her leader hadn't thought of, using her weapon to stab through the trunk, a small trickle of sap began to leak out to which she placed the spigot and began to let it drip into her jar.

Her job was suddenly interrupted by the snapping of a twig to her left and, with a quick readying of Myrtenaster, Weiss turned to face her enemy… only to be faced with a sight that terrified her to her very core. She barely noticed the jar dropping from her hands as it landed with a dull thud.

Why she felt fear, was a question a more stable mind would have been able to answer… but instead all that stress, pain and fear came crashing down upon her exhausted mind like a mighty wave across the stony shore, as she stared into the dull looking eyes of the being before her.

Standing before her in an outfit she had never seen him wear before, bringing forth all the images of her night terrors, was Jaune Arc.

* * *

Jaune stood there in silence as he stared at the girl he was doing his best to try and not focus on today. The girl he just wanted to try and forget about for one day and get on with his plan… the plan to apologise to Yang… he knew it wouldn't be easy… he had expected to see Weiss but for her to storm off or be lead away by Ruby, considering what had happened at the end of her big blow up at the weekend… he still didn't know what Coco had said to her, and frankly he wasn't sure he wanted to know. All he had wanted to do was talk to Yang and ask if they could move on… instead he was faced with the sight of Weiss Schnee staring at him with wide eyes full of terror and fear as her body began to tremble. Yet she didn't move, her body seeming to lock up as she looked at him. She didn't start to scream and shout at him either… that should have made him happy, but instead an uncomfortable feeling settled inside him… a feeling of worry for the girl before him… why, he didn't know… not in the slightest… he shouldn't have and yet he had to admit that he had been drawn to her every time he had seen her since that weekend.

His mind should have focused on remembering her horrible words, the words that were intended to make him feel awful for some apparent wrong doing he had done to her. Instead he focused on what he had seen… her tired and scared eyes as they teared up when she looked at him, the tears streaming down her face for the pain he had apparently caused her… for the pain he seemingly been causing her a while. He focused on the way her body looked so fragile as she shook and trembled, her sadness projecting outwards as she stared at him. He focused on the strange anger he felt when Coco had grabbed her, though he hadn't heard her words, the look of fear on the normally indomitable Heiress as she had hung her head and responded to Coco's raging screams… he focused on how his body had screamed at him to go to her when he had glimpsed back as he was lead away by Coco and Velvet… the image of her looking so numb to everyone around her was something that had been burned into his mind… why did he feel so upset to see her in pain? Why did he care?

Why did she look exactly like that now, as she stared at him?

"Weiss?" He wasn't sure why he spoke to her, nor why he had said it with so much worry, only that he had. As he noticed that she only flinched at his approach and gave no sign that she was going to reply to him, he decided that it was best to move on… he didn't want to have to deal with her if she decided to blow up at him again. He made to move, to get away from the girl even as the deafening melody sprung up once more in his chest as he watched her eyes widen, her form tensing up even further at his approach.

"St-stay away from me!" she cried, moving back, moving backwards towards a particularly large tree.

He was taken aback by her words, briefly stunned by her actions.

Once more the words slipped out and he found himself unable to stop himself. His mouth moving with a will of its' own.

"What? But… I'm not even… I'm just trying to-" his words were stopped by her own as his eyes focused on her own, those eyes that had been filled with so much fire the day he met her. Those eyes he had fell in love with… now looking so fearful and pained.

"Don't look at me! D-don't!" she screamed, her body shaking and hitting against the tree to which she jolted away from briefly before the sound of his slow approach sent her straight back into it, seemingly trying to press herself into it.

Why did she look so afraid of him?

 ** _Monster. Hurting everyone around you and making them afraid._**

The return of that dark, whispering voice caused him to let out an angry growl as his anger let slip for a moment at her response. _What right does she have to act all afraid when I'm the one she went up to started screaming at!? She's the one who made me feel that way, I-_ he stopped his thoughts there, taking in a deep, calming breath the get himself under control... the last thing he needed to do was to make his life all the worse by starting more trouble with Weiss and causing even more of a rift between the teams.

The fact that he didn't want to have to see Weiss looking so afraid of him was something he refused to admit to, like the burning pain of the heavy beat in his chest.

"… Heh… fine, I'm leaving" he muttered, taking a wider route around her in what must be the direction of her team. She gave no response to his words, only seeming to try to press herself into the tree even more and turning her head further away from him.

* * *

 _A **ll your fault. It's all your fault he thought those thoughts. His eyes are dead because of you**_ **.** Those were the thoughts going through Weiss' mind right now. His voice, his approach, his very _existence_ near her right now made the dark thoughts grow louder and louder, the images of his body flying from the roof came ever more frequently. As she heard him move past her, she couldn't hold back a faint whimper, something that she would have seen and thought of as weak and pathetic. That she was scared of him… no she wasn't scared of _him_ … she was scared to see that look in his eyes once more. She was scared to see what those eyes would hold this time… pain? Fear? Or… she was _terrified_ to admit that a small part of her was afraid that if she looked in his eyes she would see that pain he held… that she had caused.

* * *

The whimper that came from the girl behind him, stopped Jaune dead in his tracks… she seemed on the verge of tears… but why? And why had he stopped? Why was he turning around? Why… why was he walking back towards her? Why… why did he feel such guilt when he no idea what she was going on about, neither then, nor now. He hated her… he hated her for what she had done to him… he hated her for making him think love was real… He hated her for what she had called him… he hated her for what she made him feel at this moment. For right now, all he wanted to do was hold close the girl who made it clear she hated him just as much as he was still trying to convince himself he did to.

She saw his approach and backed away once more, now moving away form the tree and heading back across the small clearing they found themselves in.

"Y-You said you were leaving!" she shouted, her eyes now a mix of everything from before, and now a small amount of anger at him not doing what he'd said he'd do. "Just leave me alone! Just stay away! Why do you keep hurting me!? Why-"

"I'm sorry" it was now his turn to interrupt her, his hands clenching tight enough to make the leather on his hands creak and groan, yet he forced his gaze to remain on her. He didn't know what he was apologising for, hell, he didn't even think he needed to apologise when she had been the one to make things worse the other day. But, something deep down inside him was making the words leave his mouth and now he was caught in his own body's trap. Unable to stop his lips from moving or counteract his bodies refusal to move… heh… if Ruby could see him now, she would be making it clear that she thought she had been proven right. He was still convinced he was going to get into another screaming match with the girl before him. "I… I don't know what I did, I don't know what made you think I was out to hurt you… I don't even know why I stopped when you clearly don't want me here… I just did"

"Then leave!" her reply was quick and panicked, backing further away from him. "Leave me alone! Just go away! You said your piece, now leave!" she screamed, tears freely pouring down her face as she did.

"Weiss…" he said, taking in a deep breath once more. "Weiss what did I do? You're so angry at me but I honestly haven't got a clue what I did this time" he said, moving closer to her once more and once more, she moved back.

* * *

 ** _You're doing it again, look at him. Look at those sad eyes that were once so happy and bright. You did this._**

* * *

"EVERYTHING!" she yelled, her anger seemingly taking over once more as she glared at him, suddenly moving forward and stabbing a finger into his chest, the mascara she wore streaming down her cheeks. "You keep hurting me! You keep making me realise you never cared! That I meant nothing to you! Why!? Why do I even care!? Why do you do this to me!?" she yelled, each screaming shout accompanied by a finger stabbing into his breastplate. Her words were harsh and pained yet he couldn't help but notice certain things she said…

"But… But I wasn't trying to hurt you!" he said back, a bit louder than before as he spread his arms wide. "I was trying to have a nice day out with my friends, _you're_ the one who came up and started to yell at me!" he stated, feeling a small amount of anger rise in his voice that he tried to quell. He needed to stay calm… he didn't need this to get any worse than it already was, whatever this _actually_ was that his body had forced him to do.

His words seemed to stun her for a moment, she actually went silent for a second until she threw her head to the side and made to walk away. She was halfway to turning around when he moved forward, the beat all but ordering him to stop her. He felt a need to. To make her understand he didn't want to hurt her. That… that he just wanted this all to end.

His hand grabbed hers and she stopped dead still before she tugged her arm against his in an effort to get away, yet he held firm. For all her power and abilities on the battlefield, Weiss was not the most physically strong person in the world. _Ruby_ was stronger than her, so it wasn't all that hard for him to hold onto her, until she turned around with red raw eyes that looked into his own, worried ones, even if the worry was something that confused him, Jaune could not fight it any more now than he could before. They still let out her tears that were drawing forth little sniffles every now and then, her face red and her lips quivering ever so slightly.

It was then she spoke once more, not in a shout… but in a whisper as her eyes dipped from his own once more… her voice sounding so defeated and sad as she seemed to give up trying to get out of his grip. There was also something else to her voice… she seemed to sound so tired all of a sudden, like she hadn't slept for days and this entire encounter had just drained her of all the fight she had in her.

"Why… why do you keep doing this to me? Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't you just stay away so I don't have to see those eyes anymore?" _eyes?_ He pondered, his face turning confused as she continued onwards. "Why… why can't you just stay away so I don't have to keep seeing you d-… " she trailed off, refusing to meet his eyes even as he searched for hers, if only to get an answer to what she was going on about… what had he done to cause her this pain? Was he really the reason she was like this… like he had been, before he allowed Coco, Velvet and Pyrrha to help him get past it. her face soon turned angry once more "Why are you even here!? You made it clear you hate me! That you don't care about me! So why!? Why are you here acting like you want to help!? You don't know what I'm going through!"

Anger surged through Jaune at a pace too quick for him to stop and he let forth an angry bellow.

"Because I want to help! For some reason, even I don't know, I want to help you Weiss! If I don't know then tell me! If you need help, then let me! Because for some reason I care about you being happy, so just let m-" a thunderous roar stopped his words before they could leave his mouth and Jaune's head spun around to find a group of Ursa less than forty feet from them, the beasts of black fur, bleached white bone armour and blood red eyes staring at them with both hunger, despite them not needing to eat according to Pyrrha, and hatred for humankind. "Crap" was all he uttered as he drew forth Crocea Mors and expanded the sheath form until it became the heater shield, he held before him.

There were only five of them and, despite their large size, they were only minors. They got lucky in that regard as Jaune imagined Weiss could handle a Major so long as she stayed focused, which didn't seem all that likely given her emotional and mental state at the moment but frankly even at his best he doubted he could take down one of those massive monstrosities.

Letting go of the argument for now, Jaune turned all of his attention towards dealing with the Ursa that must have been drawn by his and Weiss's negative emotions. Of course they had to do this out in the open in a Grimm infested forest.

"Forget it, we need to deal with these guys, Weiss can you lay down some covering fire for me? I bet I have more aura than you so I can tank any hits while you deal with them since I know you can deal more damage than I can, alright?" he asked, standing before her to give her a chance to get some dust ready. When he was met with silence, he flicked his head back to find Weiss staring at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression. "Weiss!" he said with more urgency to his words that seemed to snap her out of it as she shook her head and glared at him for a brief moment before readying Myrtenaster and summoning a Glyph to get a good distance on the advancing Ursa.

Breathing in a sigh of relief, a small part of him happy to see that determined look back in her eyes which he adamantly ignored, Jaune moved forward slowly, watching as the first of the Ursa moved towards him at a charging pace. It's friends content to amble over leaving it far ahead of any form of back up they could give.

The one thing Jaune would never allow someone to accuse him of, even if he got embarrassed at any praise he was given for it, was not being able to think up a strategy on the fly. It had been what had kept him and his team alive during initiation when they had faced off against that massive deathstalker. He put it down to the one thing that he had been good at when his dad had been trying to train him to become a huntsman, he'd taught him about the battles his Great-Great-Grandfather had fought in as well as the tactics used in said battles. It had the one and only time he had ever managed to make his dad smile with pride when he had quickly grasped the reason behind certain routes and attack patterns, even if he had said them in a way that had made his dad laugh…

Now that mattered more than ever, with both their teams a couple minutes away, even at a run, they had no back up since neither had the time to set off a message to let them know they were in trouble. the only other way was for one of them to take a hit to their aura. Shockingly enough, he was not a big fan of that idea. Especially considering Weiss was a bit a glass cannon in combat. It was her manoeuvrability that kept her out of harms way. A couple solid hits would shatter her aura and leave her vulnerable. He was in a much better state, considering he imagined he could take a direct hit from a majors claws at full aura and still have just enough to get away, but the idea of letting himself get hit was not something he wanted to risk, even if it would bring help.

Charging forward, Jaune watched as Weiss shot ice spikes at a one of the Ursa near the rear of the pack and using her glyphs to move gracefully out of another's swipe. His attention was snapped back to his own Ursa when its' paw swiped at his shield. The strike hit with all of the beast's fury… and Jaune was surprised at how light it felt…

"Yatsuhashi hits harder than you on an off day!" he growled, pushing back the strike and slashing forwards in a technique Velvet and Pyrrha had showed him. He side stepped its' next charge, his blade starting high up, before he cleaved downwards onto the neck of the beast, using a flick of his wrist to give that extra bit of speed to let his blade cut straight across and threw the Ursa's neck.

The beast looked just as confused as he did, as it loped past him, only to fall dead a few feet from him and slowly begin to dissipate into black fog.

He… he had killed it… in one swing?

That… that was incredible! Had Coco's training regime really helped that much?

* * *

Weiss saw him out of the corner of her eye, the beast was coming to attack him, and she froze for the briefest of moments. Her eyes growing tunnel vision as it moved within striking range.

The image of the monsters' claws cleaving through his weak armour and flesh, leaving him to die at its' feet… it appeared in her mind and she felt her grip on Myrtenaster's handle increase as she subconsciously made to cast a bolt of fire at the creature, feeling true terror in that moment.

 _He's going to die… he's going to die and it's all my fault! Why did I have to shout and scream!? Why did I have to do this!?_ _He's-… what?_ Her terror filled thoughts paused for a moment.

Instead of being taken out by the Ursa's paw, he moved to the side like flowing water, his face a mask of calm determination as he effortlessly brought his blade up high before bringing it down and killing the monster in a single swing…

Her momentary pause to watch the scene cost her dearly, unfortunately.

She felt something heavy and powerful hit her in the mid-section, herself being flung back to land in a crouch, groaning in pain as she could feel her aura having taken a fairly heavy hit.

The Ursa that loomed above her made to bring its stinking maw down upon her, but a quick recovery and an even quicker strike of her blade through its' left eye, put an end to that before it could get close to crushing her skull in it's jaws.

"Weiss!" came his concerned voice, a voice that irritated her to hear. He _didn't_ care! No matter how his earlier words had made something light and fluttery go off in her stomach, he _did. Not. Care!_ "Are you okay?" he enquired, and she replied angrily.

"Of course, I am you fool!" she growled, but a turn of his head with a furious look in his eyes somehow made her go quiet.

"No, you're not!" he roared, moving back at a fast pace and blocking a strike from and Ursa with her following his lead, keeping the large sheet of metal between her and the beast. "I need you to get your head together! You just took a serious hit and I need you to stay safe! We're both screwed if you end up with no aura! Whatever hate you have for me; you need to drop it and focus on the threat in front of us! You can deal a lot more damage than I can and are also pretty much just _better_ at killing Grimm then I am, but not if you're not focused! Shout, scream and tell me how worthless I am later, but for now we gotta deal with these guys!" his words held no room to argue, and Weiss strangely felt no drive to in any case… while she was loath to admit it… he was right. Her anger towards the boy had no place on the battlefield.

He would be getting her full rage later, daring to talk to her like he had any right to act angrily towards her!

For now, however... there was a battle to be won.

"Can you stick with my plan?" he asked, his voice letting out a little of his nervousness at the situation, the idea of three Ursa being a threat to the pair of them wasn't something she would see as one, yet she knew that packs of Ursa this size tended to also have a major with them… maybe he knew that as well.

Weiss nodded at him, her eyes becoming determined as she leapt back a few feet, though keeping him between her and the three remaining Ursa.

* * *

Charging forward, Jaune swiped at the Ursa on the left. His strike was much faster than it had been a week prior, the blade hitting the paw of the bear Grimm and leaving a deep, cleaving wound rendering the digits useless to it as the Ursa stumbled aside, nearly falling over as it tried to use the paw the stabilize itself.

Hearing a heavy thump from behind him, Jaune dodged to the side just in time to feel a glancing blow of the middle Ursa that had taken advantage of his distraction to attack, and the tearing of fabric... _aw nuts..._

* * *

Weiss saw the hit coming, he had gone in too far and left himself open as the middle Ursa made to attack him.

Another image of his back being cleaved open appeared and she attacked on instinct, not caring for how narrowly she got away with the aid of a speed glyph from the advancing Ursa from the right.

 _He will_ not _die! Not until I can tell him that he had no right to speak to me like I was his underling!_

* * *

Looking behind himself briefly, after rolling up to face his attacker to find it full of spikes of ice that had ended its' life, he saw that his new coat had been torn badly around the base… scraps of the expensive fabric, where the armour was weaker, whipped around in the small amount of wind he created in his escape... dammit… Coco was going to kill him.

 _Okay, focus on living for now... If I can survive this, I can survive an angry Coco... probably..._

Looking over to Weiss, he threw her a quick nod, before once again attacking the Ursa he had already injured, the beast attacking with its' uninjured paw only to have it lopped off by a two-handed swing. Unable to support itself on its' injured paw, it came crashing down to just in front of him and he finished it off by impaling it through its' neck, it not having enough armour to protect from his blade. He honestly wanted to whoop in joy at being able to kill not one but _two_ Ursa! But the roar behind him cut him off before he could celebrate.

He turned to find Weiss retreating from the Ursa, leading it right to him, while hitting the beast with small blasts of fire. While he imagined she could easily take it out herself, he was surprisingly touched to find her following his plan. The risk of her own aura taking another hit was much greater than him taking one with his aura at a still fairly high level.

He charged to meet the Grimm, it swiped at him and he could tell he was going to feel the hit this time, it was going at a full sprint and was slightly larger than the others.

Instead he decided to go on the defensive, flicking his sword into a reverse grip, his slammed his shield into its' paw and then the pommel of his blade into the side of its' head, throwing the beast off course and dizzying it, even as he could feel his aura go down a bit more from blocking the deadly strike.

But that was all to plan.

"Weiss!" he yelled, knowing she could see the opening he had given to her and he felt the brief rush of air as Weiss charged forward with the aid of the speed glyph behind her.

The Grimm turned to roar at him in time to get Weiss's blade impaled in its' throat, before she released a blast of fire straight down it, unleashing an inferno into its' guts. The final Ursa turning to ash as Weiss withdrew her blade and landed nimbly beside him... he'd never really ever wanted find out just how bad cooked Grimm meat could smell, but it wasn't like he was going to get annoyed about it since that had been the last of them.

"I… I guess that's the last of them…" he said, nearly not believing his own words as he looked incredulously around him. He must have been training harder than he thought if he was able to take out two Ursa on his own and a third with help in such a short space of time….

He turned to look at the girl beside him, and for once he didn't feel that usual anger he felt when he was near her… in fact he felt… relieved? She was alright and had been a massive aid in taking out the Grimm.

An odd feeling settled in his chest as he took note of the fire in her eyes and the way that she stood with poise, if a little ruffled from the earlier strike she had taken. Dress of purest white with fine stitching and a striking red liner drew in his eyes. Her short stature, even in her high heels, had never been something that had stopped her from moving through the crowd like a giant. She looked so perfect… Jaune had to shake his head briefly to clear his head of the thoughts.

The last time he'd had such thoughts was when… No.

No, that was not possible. He refused to believe it.

* * *

"Yes… I suppose we did" Weiss answered quietly, already feeling the strain her lack of sleep then sudden exercise was had put on her body, she looked at him from the corner of her vision.

She felt a weirdly warm sensation grow in her chest as she looked at the boy, who was by her own words someone she hated, beside her.

He looked so tall compared to her, especially in that new outfit of his… the long coat, if torn, mixed with the formal shirt and beautifully stitched sash around his slim waste give him an image of authority and power that had not been present in his older clothes… especially with that look in his eyes. Gone was the nervousness he usually had, gone was the dull and blank look that had been there ever since _that_ day… now he looked like a hardened warrior, staring at the field of his fallen enemies.

Weiss shook her head, confused and angry as to where that repulsive thought had come from… the exhaustion must truly be getting to her…

Still… the least she could do is thank him for the help… even if he had technically played a part in drawing the Ursa in the first place.

Taking in a deep breath, Weiss spoke.

"Arc, I suppose I owe you a thank y-"

 _ **ROAR!**_

The sudden thunderous bellow from behind cut Weiss off before she could speak and her heart near stopped at the sight before her.

There stood what was possibly the largest Ursa Major she had ever seen... and it was less than 30ft from them.

With a head that was encased in thick, bone armour from the snout all the way to back of its immense head, with jaws and teeth that could easily bite through her low aura as it was at the moment. It connected to a heavy-set body that looked like it could shatter a boulder and fell a tree with a simple brushing of its' body against it. Across its' immense bulk, it was dotted with more, extremely thick bone that she knew she would have trouble piercing with her blade, especially its' back where a multitude of spikes half her height were set, it meant that the idea of piercing it from behind was out of the question as they looked readily able to impale her if such an attempt were made.

Its huge forelimbs were easily more than one a half Jaune's in height and easily twice as thick as he was broad. That meant that she could easily be killed if a single strong hit from that beast, Jaune might survive but only just, high aura or not. The bone claws on the end of the club like limbs, while blunted, would be able to tear through trees with ease through brute force alone.

She saw what might be there best shot though, its hindlegs were nowhere near as armoured as the front limbs and a cut to the ankle, if deep enough, would cause to creature to be unable to support it's immense bulk on the weakened limb and slow it down. If they were to hit the other limb as well? Then the creature would be easy pickings even for a novice as the Grimm would have to literally drag itself after them and _then_ try and attack before they moved out of range.

Frankly the beast, despite her remarks to its' deadliness, would be easy prey for her… if she wasn't in the current state she was in.

She refused to show it, but her body was already physically shaking from the constant dodging, attacking and the blow she had taken earlier… along with that, it was hard for her exhausted mind to think up a good way to actually get _to_ the limbs… She was actually going to have to do it, wasn't she? She was going to have to rely on Arc… it was strange how it didn't repulse her as much as she thought it would.

As the beast slowly lumbered around them, showing a sign of intelligence lesser Grimm seemed to lack, Weiss moved in closer to Jaune. She saw how his eyes focused on the same part of the beast that she had, at least it meant she didn't have to waste time explaining things to him.

"Arc… Do you have any ideas on how we get to those heels?" she asked, seeing his head quickly turn to her for a second, showing actual surprise at her question, before his focus turned back to the Grimm. It had begun to slowly move closer, to which they both moved back. "What?"

"It's just… nothing" he said, withholding a question he clearly wanted to ask yet apparently didn't see it as important enough to do so. "Okay… Okay, what type of dust do you have? I'm not too caught up on all the types yet" he admitted, Weiss rolled her eyes and recited off the dusts she had packed for today.

"I have about half a vial of both fire and Ice dust alongside a full vial of lightning, earth and gravity" It was as easy as reciting her the first few words of her song, a small part of her mind going back to when Jaune had mentioned her song... she had been so full of anger back then, especially at the use of her song to insult her, that she had never thought to wonder if he really had listened to her song for reasons other than to research her... what if he truly enjoyed it?

She shook her head in confusion, angry and confused as to why she cared about such a foolish idea and instead focused on her earlier notion of the dust. No matter the state of her mind, she would always make sure she meticulously remembered what she had in her weapon. It would literally mean life or death in some cases.

"Okay… I doubt fire or ice would do to much good as projectiles with that tough hide…" as he opened his mouth to continue, however, the Major decided now was the time to strike. It charged forward at breakneck speed, nearly hitting them if it weren't for them both just about dodging in opposite directions at the peak of its' charge.

* * *

The Ursa crashed through the trees they had just been stood in front of, leaving Jaune with wide eyes that desperately scanned for Weiss. He finally saw her, standing off to the side her expression was near angry and he couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. Of _course,_ she would be annoyed at the Ursa interrupting their plans. That was just like her.

Looking back to the beast, he saw that hitting a tree easily broader than him had done nothing to hurt it. Instead those hatred filled eyes seemed to just be annoyed that its food had moved away from it.

 _Okay… Okay, I gotta think… Ursa are big, scary and are basically walking tanks. Coco told me about their weak hindlegs… what else did she say!?_ He thought as he was charged once again, he could see Weiss's flames and ice shards hit it, and as he thought, they seemed to do nothing as it just kept coming. Weiss obviously realised this as she gave up on the idea and gave chase after it. Jaune was forced to run as it gave chase, passing near the tree he had confronted Weiss by earlier, he was shocked to see that the Major's attention was grabbed for a moment.

Its' head turned to look right at the tree he had just passed seemingly zeroing in on the sap at its' base that Weiss had dropped earlier.

Something clicked in Jaune's mind. Something Velvet had told him the other day when she was giving him tips with Coco on the weaknesses and strengths of Ursa.

 _Just remember to be careful, if you hit a tree and get sap on you, you'll draw in every Ursa that can smell it. They're… they're weirdly attracted to it_.

It was then he realised what he had to do, as the Ursa caught up with him he dodged to the side and ran as fast as his legs would carry him in the opposite direction. He just about avoided a hit from the Ursa as it struggled to turn its' immense bulk back around.

He grabbed the half empty jar, running back to a confused Weiss, he knew he only had seconds to explain.

* * *

As Jaune hurriedly talked, Weiss couldn't help but agree with it… she could even admit, to herself of course, that it was a fairly intelligent plan to make up on the fly.

She nodded at him, preparing the correct dust for the job as Jaune grabbed a fairly large broken branch and jammed it into the jar to collect as much sap as he needed.

The plan, though still fairly clever, was dangerous and they would both need good timing to get it work right.

As soon as he got what he needed, Weiss grabbed the jar and sealed the top shut with a thin sheet of ice to stop the escape of even more of the scent all Ursa seemed obsessed with. If any more were to get out it would mean the plan might likely fail and one, if not both of them, could be killed.

As the Major closed in once more, Weiss watched as Jaune started to bound off to her left as she moved right, keeping a tight hold on the jar as she went. She used her glyphs to propel her upwards, her body shaking even more to the point she had to physically force herself to keep focused on the task at hand. Though she could not, for all her will, stop her eyes from falling on him as he ran, getting the beasts attention with the scent on the end of his branch.

* * *

Jaune knew his plan was reckless and stupid… but he had no choice. It was the only way he could think of to the get at the Ursa's leg.

Just as he thought it might, the Ursa immediately ignored Weiss in favour of going after him, the sap clearly too much to resist as its' tongue lolled out as it went.

 _C'mon, you big, dumb Grimm! You want the sap, don't you!?_

It was as the creature of Grimm was near on top of him, that his plan came to fruition.

From behind and to the right, yet high enough to make the shot easy enough, Weiss unsealed the sap and threw it in an overarm shot. The scent was immediately caught by the Ursa who turned It's head only to have glass shatter across its face and sap cover the eyes, though one eye was actually blown out when a large shard of glass stabbed into the red and yellow orb.

With the creature briefly blinded, the second part of his plan came into action.

Moving back as to avoid the wild swings of the Ursa as it furiously sought him out, standing on its' back legs to make full use of those powerful, long arms. He watched as Weiss descended, her body moving slightly slowly to his worry, and she impaled her blade into the left leg of the Grimm, a charge of her lightning dust shooting through it as well.

The bear Grimm began to stumble, leaving it wide open as Jaune dove in to deliver the killing blow.

Even _if_ Weiss was a better hunter than he was. Even _if_ he was unable to use dust like she could… there was one advantage that Jaune had to made him better suited for this part of the plan. Crocea Mors had a much wider and stronger blade than her own, considering it had survived for hundreds of years and seen an insane amount of battles but barely had a single nick in the blade.

That mattered when it came to driving his sword right into the Ursa's unprotected chest, piercing right to the hilt with a furious thrust, before he tore his blade free to tear a great gash along its' body. The beast stilled at his attack, going limp and beginning to fall forward… right on top of him… he hadn't planned for that… oops...

As his eyes widened in shock, preparing to be crushed by the weight of the dead Ursa, he felt a sudden force crash into his side before it could hit his head.

He was thrust to the side, closing his eyes as he skidded along the ground, enclosing his arms over whatever had hit him so as to keep hold of it. If it was a Grimm, it would have a hard time attacking him if it couldn't move. But… if it was what he was beginning to think it might be, as he felt what definitely felt like a pair of small hands wrapped around his neck, then he wanted to keep his saviour safe at all costs.

As they came to a stop, Jaune slowly opened his eyes to find his suspicions were proven to be correct.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Weiss was greeted by another pair. This pair was different to her own, however. While hers were more like the ice itself, these were more akin to sapphires of the purest quality.

They stared at her, wide as they could, and she couldn't help but feel relief to see the owner of those eyes was alright.

They lay there for an amount of time she couldn't quite tell, until Jaune let out a laugh. It was a small one, but it began to build until he was laughing in pure joy his body bolting upright and still holding her as he practically danced with her, Weiss feeling her cheeks heat up at the fact she was at least a foot off the ground at the tall boy held her close...

"We did it!" he cheered, an excitement she never would have thought would ever be seen in his eyes ever again taking over as he grinned at her.

It was only when she felt her chest vibrating, that Weiss realized that she was giggling as well, once she did realise however, her body seemed to decide it needed to be louder as she fully let out a laugh as she smiled at Jaune "Yes we did!" she agreed, smiling as she looked at him, all her tiredness forgotten as she looked up into the eyes of Jaune… who was holding her… off the ground… in his arms…

As soon as her laughter started, it was ended by a furious blush that took over her face, smacking his arms lightly, she made him put her down. If his mood had dipped any, it was not noticed by her as he continued to grin like a madman.

The heat across her face refused to dissipate, getting even worse when she looked into his blue eyes. Why did she feel this way? Why… why wouldn't that odd fluttery sensation in her stomach go away?

Forcing herself to be brave, and dealing with the fluttering when she did, Weiss looked back into his eyes… he looked truly happy… happier than he had been for a long time…

The Jaune she thought she knew was an uncaring, heartless monster who cared more about himself than anyone else…

Yet he had stayed to fight the Ursa with her. To protect her while she took them out with her higher damage output.

The Jaune Arc she thought she knew said he hated her and had proven it so with his words.

Yet had put aside all that anger to make sure they were both safe…

The Jaune Arc she thought she knew wouldn't be able to look at her with such pure happiness and relief that it could be no lie…

Weiss felt a small pain go through her chest as her brow furrowed.

She had been so angry… so intent on hating him for his words… So intent on staying angry at him for not speaking to her that night he saw her in the hallway… Why though, why had him clearly not being _able_ to bring himself to talk to her instead of just not _wanting_ to talk to her, brought her so much anger and pain? _He_ hadn't been the one to start that argument either… _he_ had been the one to try and be friends… that was what had set her off though… she wasn't sure as to why but the idea of him wanting to be _friends_ … it made her so angry… like she had been hoping for another word entirely…

A small blush came to Weiss's face and a brief idea was _very_ shortly entertained before she smothered it… there was no possible way… She had just been putting the blame onto him and anyone who had come to his defence… there was not a chance _that_ was what had caused her such upset.

S _he_ had gotten so infuriated to see him in the arms of that Velvet girl the other day… for what she had so readily written off as him wanting to hurt her. Yet how would that even be possible? It wasn't like he could predict what would happen or where she and Ruby would end up for him to stage something like that… maybe they really were just having a nice day out… with a girl that clearly meant a lot to him. Then she had come along and ruined it… Why had she been so quick to accuse him of trying to hurt her? Why had she ruined what had been a good day for both Ruby and herself and also for Jaune, Velvet and Coco… When he too was clearly suffering in pain… a pain she made so much worse…

Memories of seeing the light leave his eyes filled her mind. The slump that came over his body as he was led away… the way he looked ready to shatter at a gentle breeze…

 _She_ was the one in the wrong, wasn't she?...

The truth hit like a lead weight in her chest… While she wasn't going to ever deny that Jaune was _in part_ at fault for the argument getting as heated as it did, she had been the one to make it cause the worst of the aftermath.

All that anger he had been feeling… a broken heart that he was trying to pretend wasn't to the point all those emotions he had been trying to suppress came out in such violent ways… maybe that was when he and Velvet became an item? He _saved_ her… just like she did him under that tree.

She remembered those words he had spoken.

No matter how hard she tried to forget she couldn't.

All the love and care he had poured into those words… after their fight she had been so ready to say they weren't true… that they had all been made up.

But that wasn't true was it?

She had been trying to blame him for everything.

Trying to make it seem like she wasn't at fault at all… gods what she'd said to him at the end… the thought of those sick words she had spoken made her chest heave and groan under the pressure from within. A screaming song to make it all end… to make all the pain go away…

She needed to apologise… it was a simple thing to think, but to say? How would one apologise for all the horrific things she had done?

Maybe… maybe she could just say so? Say she was willing to do anything to prove she was. Simple and honest. Just a couple words of the many she could use to describe the boy who had let go of her arms seconds after putting her down… a small blush forming on his face as he looked away with a look of confused thought on his face.

It was then he looked back at her, his eyes telling her that he may have reached the same conclusion… the intense look in his eyes bringing more unwanted heat to her cheeks.

Weiss took in a deep, calming breath through her nostrils… maybe this was for the best. She had just begun to repair things for team RWBY and she was certain Jaune had done the same with his own team. Maybe... Maybe it was time to just try and move on? Maybe they really could try and be…

"Jaune, I-"

"Weiss, I'm-"

They both began, both looking as confused as the other before she gently coughed into her hand as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You first" he said simply, turning his head to look away to the sky, she could have sworn she saw something as he turned away but there was no way she could see it from his great height over her.

* * *

A deep grumble beside them stopped her, turning her head in time to see the massive limb of the Ursa swinging right towards them.

Jaune felt the thunderous crash that rattled his bones and the agonising pain that hit his chest. Before he realised what was happening, he was flying through the air… only to crash heavily into a tree and feel the bark buckle beneath him. He heaved and coughed, trying to fill his lungs with the oxygen that had been forced out of them by the near deadly strike.

He saw Weiss land about twenty feet from him, not hitting anything but he saw the tell-tale sign of her aura shattering as the light blue glow broke apart like glass as she gasped for air just as he did. The pain agonising as his vision blurred and he clutched at his dented chest piece right over where his heart would be… he could feel it… his aura had been nearly wiped out from that attack… but at least he had some. Weiss was out, and the sight of the beasts' shadow beginning to loom over her brought true and utter terror to him.

 _No… No, no, no! Move Weiss! Move!_

He mentally screamed, his throat unable to produce the words he needed to get out! That he needed to _scream_ out!

He saw his blade had skittered out of his reach, laying in-between him and Weiss, who had opened her eyes and seemed to be frozen in place as she stared into the one working eye of the Major that towered over her. Her body going as still as ice while the great shadow continued to shroud over her, her own blade was limp at her side, not even raising to try and defend herself.

She… she was going to die… she was going to… No. No, she was not. He would _not_ allow this bastard to hurt her.

He moved his body with such a great amount of effort that he felt like he was moving lead instead of battered bones and muscle. They all screamed at him to stop, but he would not. They all screamed at him to just lay down and accept it all, but _he would not!_

Jaune felt an all-encompassing rage fill him as he watched the monster that dared to try and harm her. He let go of all the barriers he had built to try and contain his anger and let it all out. That monster needed to die.

And it was going to.

He charged with a growl of effort, his legs nearly giving out but he carried on through sheer force of will. He moved till he caught his blade in his hands, his shield somewhere he didn't care to look for. He didn't need a shield to kill this thing. He only needed a blade.

* * *

Weiss stared into the gaping maw of the Ursa, thick, stinking drool dripping down its' jowls as teeth longer than her hand made ready to end her life.

She tried to move. She tried to draw her blade to finish off the beast before her. She even tried to raise her voice to scream in fury at the ugly thing, thinking it could end her life… yet she couldn't, her body was frozen. Unable to move even her eyes as blood poured from the ruined eye of the Major, the other filled with utter malice and fury. All directed to killing her here and now.

She was going to die, wasn't she? She was going to die in the maw of some Grimm while the boy she had just been about to speak to, lay gasping for the very air he needed to breath a mere twenty foot away… at least he might likely get away… or his team and her own will have seen their low aura's and would come and save him… they would never arrive in time for her though…

Just as life had started to get back on track as well… of course it would.

A small tear fell down her cheek as she managed to force her eyes shut as the jaws closed in, and in her thoughts was only one thing.

 _I'm so sorry Jaune…_

As she waited for death, the stomping of feet alerted her to a presence that all so suddenly disappeared as an enraged war cry was roared into the air only to be near matched by a pained, bestial bellow. Then… a bright flash of white light hit her, hurting her eyes even as they were closed as the bellow grew louder until a thunderous boom of a body landing near her finally jerked her body into full movement to see the sight before her.

There, with a blade in its skull that had near gone straight through the entire head, was the Ursa major laying on its' side… not dead but heading there quickly, letting out a few pitiful whimpers before it expired entirely, its' body slowly dissipating into fog.

With a dumbfounded look in her eyes, Weiss began to smile ever so slightly… he'd done it… he'd killed the major!

With a joy in her heart, Weiss turned to thank him, to hug him and give all the apologies he deserved and more.

Until she saw him.

And her heart stopped.

"Jaune?"

* * *

With a roar, Jaune jumped into the air, Blade held tightly in a reverse grip in both hands to stab into the head of the monster that was going to hurt Weiss. He didn't care about anything else in that moment. He only cared about killing this bastard and making sure it would never try and hurt anyone he cared about ever again!

The Ursa didn't even seem to notice him, paying too much attention at what it _thought_ was its' prey. It didn't matter, it just made this easier.

He landed blade first into the head of the beast, its' scream of pain music to his ears as he felt Crocea Mors plunge straight through what ever the Grimm passed off as brain matter, alongside the bone that meant nothing to the strike aimed from high above with the blade he knew could cleave a Goliaths leg in two. He wasn't able to do that. But he sure as hell could kill some pathetic Ursa! He had as well, he knew this would kill it. _Nothing_ could survive a blade straight through the head. Especially not this thing.

It was only then that he realised his mistake in not grabbing his shield and allowing his body to hang in such a way off the side of the Majors' head.

In its' pained, agonised rage, it spun its' head, pulling him along with it into open air and that's when he felt it.

The sickening, crunch of armour and the squelch of flesh as it swung its claws straight at him, raking across his flesh as his aura gave out, blood spilling from his lips and a silent scream of agony ripping free as he was flung from his hanging position.

And suddenly… He was falling. No. He was flying through the air, seeing the grass covered ground fast approaching. He could feel it. He was going to die. He was going to die, and it was all because of her… and yet… He couldn't bring himself to mind that…

The last thing he saw before he crashed into the ground was a brilliant flash that seemed to come from himself as the Ursa fell beside her… at least she was safe…

Then he met the ground and his vision turned black… only to fill with colour, if hazy around the edges as he felt something warm and wet begin to pitter patter against his cheeks.

He opened his suddenly very tired eyes to see the sight of Weiss Schnee, kneeling over him with tears pouring down her face as her mouth repeatedly said something, he couldn't quite catch… everything seemed so quiet all of a sudden... almost like he was drifting off to sleep...

* * *

"Jaune! _Jaune!_ Jaune, you need to keep your eyes on me! Do you hear me!? Don't close your eyes!" she yelled, cupping his face in her hands as crimson blood kept seeping from the grievous wounds on his chest, the armour caved in and the flesh below torn horrifically as he stared at her with hazy eyes that were slowly beginning to lose their light. In terror, Weiss moved to grab her scroll to call for help only to have her heart fall into her stomach when she saw her scroll smashed beyond repair. In desperation, Weiss raised her head in hopes it was the direction of her team. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" she screamed, begging for anyone to hear her pleas.

In truth, she had screamed in the direction of another nearby team… one that had just begun to wonder where Jaune, who was fading away before her very eyes, had gotten to.

* * *

"Hey… Rennie?" Nora asked quietly, a small smile playing across her lips as the boy she had wanted to speak to for so long turned to her with a smile that warmed her heart. They had been walking a for a couple minutes in the general direction of their fearless leader since Pyrrha having gotten a little worried with how long he had been.

"Yes Nora?" he answered, raising his eyebrow in questioning as he held a jar of the sap she imagined would have taken her full attention before all this… now all she could see was the boy before her.

"Ummm… Since… since Jauney talked to me, and we're okay again… can I… can I have a hug? I know I haven't talk to Weiss yet… but… would it be okay if I had one anyway? I promise I'll talk to them all when I got back, Yang messaged me that she and Weiss had talked and were going to be okay again! Which means that I may get to talk to her as well!... umm you don't have to. I know I messed up and all. It's your choice…" she left the question hanging there, and her answer was a pair of warm arms wrapping around her. A scent she knew to be his shampoo wafting over her as she felt small tears of happiness enter her eyes as she too put her arms around him and smiled.

A sudden scream cut their hug off, however. One that chilled the blood in their veins.

" _HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"_

It was a voice full of terror and fear so great that they immediately forgot all about what they had been doing and turned to Pyrrha who was looking right back at them.

"Come on!" she yelled, drawing forth her weapon and shield as she charged forward, it was clear to Nora that the only thing on her mind was the same thing on her own. That it wasn't Jaune that was in need of help...

* * *

He stared at her as she tried to desperately stop the blood flow coming from his chest to no avail, a small smile playing across his face… he couldn't even feel the pain anymore… just a gentle numbness that made it all the easier to stare at her beautiful face.

Those soft, perfect lips that spoke his name.

That scar she was clearly nervous about but he couldn't help but find it... brave... yeah, that was the word he'd use... whatever she'd done to earn that scar, it had been something that had led her to the life she had now.

The way her snow-white hair perfectly framed her face and her bangs drew his hazy eyes to her glistening, angelic ones.

Those had been the first thing he had truly taken notice of when he had first spoken to her. Those eyes had entranced him every time she looked his way. Whether they glowed with righteous fury, pleasant joy or intense focus he loved those eyes.

Slowly and gently, for that was all his weak limb could manage, he raised his hand and took hold of her own that held his face.

Her eyes widened with shock when he did this and she brought her hand out, placing both across it as she held his hand in-between her much smaller ones.

He'd always imagined what it would be like to hold her hand in his, the smoothness of it against his rough ones made his smile grow ever so slightly.

With great effort, he opened his mouth, swallowing the small amount of blood that had collected in it, and spoke.

"S-s… sorry… sorry f-for not le- _cough-_ letting you finish" he said with a smile he hoped came across cheeky.

"I don't care about that!" she cried, her tears growing worse and she squeezed his hand a little tighter in her hand. "Just keep your eyes on me, okay? Just stay awake and you'll be alright! Someone must have heard me and is on their way" she said with a forced smile that was ruined by the obvious fear for him she held, she didn't need to be though… she was alright and he felt that he could die happy knowing that… it was funny how calm he felt right now. Maybe it was the blood loss or the adrenaline, but he felt an odd calm come over him instead of the intense fear and dread he imagined he _should_ have felt.

She was safe and he had kept her so. That was enough for him right now…

He could at least let her have a little relief though.

So, he did as she told him to, focusing his drooping eyes on hers, enjoying the way they looked even more now, the red leaves around them contrasting perfectly against her blue and white hues.

When was the last time he had thought of her like this?...

 _Oh yeah… back when I was in love with h-… oh my gods he was right_ … Jaune let out a small chuckle that turned into a raptured cough. Weiss placed her hands on his shoulders in a frantic bid to keep him still, his shoulders slumping back against the small mound of dirt he had dug up with his fall.

* * *

Ruby was beginning to get a little worried about Weiss, she had been gone for a little while and she was on her own… she looked over to where Yang and Blake were talking.

It brought a smile to her face, she needed to sort things out with Yang properly still, but what Weiss had done earlier, really helped.

Thinking of her partner, Ruby brought out her scroll to call her. Only to stop when she realised just what she had left on her scroll since last night… she'd put it on silent so she wouldn't accidentally start playing it in the hallway which was the last thing she needed at the moment with her social anxiety.

A video she had uploaded onto her scroll via a small chip Jaune had left in a letter he had left for her partner all those days ago…

His week was almost up, and Weiss seemed weirdly better than she had the other day… maybe it would work if she asked Weiss to talk to him now? Maybe show the video to her suddenly. She knew Weiss was curious and it might force her to continue watching… maybe then she would begin to realise that Jaune really did love her!? The thought brought a smile to her lips.

Her screen was suddenly filled with another one, her initial confusion was replaced by and ice-cold fear when she saw what the screen, which was flashing repeatedly in alert, showed to her.

"Yang! Blake! Weiss is in serious trouble!" she screamed, Yang going pale while Blake's eyes widened.

"I know which way she was going! Follow me, quick!" Blake yelled, running off with both Ruby and Yang in hot pursuit. Ruby sending an emergency signal to Miss Goodwitch as she did.

* * *

"What's wrong, Jaune? What can I do!?" she fearfully asked, her voice a mere whisper as she continued to try and soak up the blood, tearing a piece of her sleeve off and applying pressure to the wounds to staunch the flow. _Please… Please let someone have heard me!_ She begged, her tears falling fully as she watched his skin get paler and paler.

"It's… it's just so funny… of course he w-was r… right" he said, voice sounding far away.

"What is, Jaune? Who was right?" she needed to keep him talking, if he kept talking, it would mean his brain would stay focused…. It would mean he might still be alive when help arrived.

"Ozpin… h-he said that I was… I was… he was right" his hand in hers began to loosen but Weiss held it tightly her one hand moving to cup Jaune's chin to keep his eyes on hers.

" _What_ was he right about, Jaune!?" she cried… he was slipping away right before her… and there was nothing she could do.

"That… that I still… loved you, heheh" he choked, his head gently hitting the grass as his unfocused eyes stare at the sky as Weiss felt her breath hitch at his words, staring at him in shock. "After everything… after all the denial… he was right… sorry… Sorry, I couldn't leave you alone like you wanted…" he whispered, eyes drifting shut.

"NO! No, I don't want you to leave me alone! I want you to stay here! Right now! With me! Do you hear me Jaune!? Don't you dare Jaune!" she screamed, getting no response from him this time. "Jaune! Jaune!?... _Jaune?_ " she whimpered, feeling his skin grow colder around her as her eyes widened, her hands began to shake and the screeching, horrific agony in her chest stopping for a single, terrible second.

One word left Weiss's lips. A tortured word, that brought forth all the pain she felt in that moment.

* * *

Pyrrha ran with all her might, her legs screaming for release that she refused to give. Jaune might be in trouble. This was the direction he had gone in, and if _she_ was begging for help…

 _Oh gods…_

It was as she burst into a clearing, Ren and Nora close behind, that a single word shattered through the relative silence of the surroundings.

Pyrrha's heart stopped.

" _ **JAUNE!"**_

* * *

Ruby wanted to use her semblance to burst around the trees to get to her partner, but she had to follow Blake. She was fast and they were speeding through the woods at a pace that even she could consider fast, it was the only thing keeping her from scouring in that general direction herself.

Weiss had to be safe! Weiss _needed_ to be safe!

She brought out her scroll once more, checking to see if there were any changes to her aura level, or lack-there-of. It was still empty, but the red bleeping was proof she was alive. That brought a small amount of relief to her.

That was until a terrible scream full of agony hit them as they were closing in on what looked like a clearing on her scrolls map.

" _ **JAUNE!"**_

* * *

A scroll was dropped as six people descended on the girl in white covered in blood as she clung to the boy beneath her, his eyes closed and blood staining the ground.

A scroll was knocked against a small stone, causing the screen to shift to a video upon its' surface and it began to play as a Bullhead appeared in the skies above them all.

On it was a young man, blonde hair that he swore was messy on purpose. Eyes like sapphires that he proudly explained that his mom said was his best feature. In his lap was a guitar, a little old yet still as good as any other. He was sat on his bed, alone in a room clearly meant for four but they were evidently not there for the time being.

"H-hey… Weiss" the boy smiled brightly, the grin pure and honest. "Ermmm… So, if you're seeing this it means you accepted my flowers and the letter, which frankly shocks me to heck but hey, I'm not complaining! _So…_ Ermmm… before I start to babble, I'm gonna be honest and say I gave you that chip so I could sing you a song, if I tried to sing it to you in person I'd probably chicken out and sing something kinda stupid and awkward. Now before you close it!" he boy hastily added, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness. "Well… this song is based off of one of your own. It was a really sad song I only realised was by you when I was passing by your dorm and heard you singing to yourself one day. The song you sung always kinda got to me… and realising that it was _you_ singing that song, well, I decided to make my own little, I guess you could call it a sequel? Maybe like a part two? A-anyway, it was my way of trying to both prove to you that I really _do_ care about you Weiss, and that… well, that your song is wrong. Because I _know_ that's no longer true" at that, the boy pulled the guitar into a playing position and let out a small cough. "Okay… I… I hope you like it Weiss" the boy smiled, his body relaxing as his fingers played out a tune the white haired would have recognised if she could hear it over her screams.

~ _Miiiiirrrrooor, tell me something…_

 _Tell me why she's the loooooonliest… of alllll…~_


	17. A painful truth

**_EDITED_**

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 15**

 **A painful truth**

 **Hello guys, no words or little hints this time. Just a welcome back and a hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

She was in a room, a plain, white room. White walls, white ceiling and a white floor.

She was in a room full of noises that fell onto deaf ears. Beeps, clicks and pulses from the many things that surrounded her.

She was in a room full of machines that were making the beeps she was drowning out, monitors that kept an eye on _his_ heart rate and breathing, they were both slightly eratic... too eratic for her liking.

 _ **He's dying, you killed him...**_

 _No, he's alive, he's right here and breathing..._

Another that connected itself to _him_ via tubes that were draining various bags of clear liquid into him, while she hadn't bothered to know how long she had been watching _him_ , she knew that the bags were now half empty.

She didn't care about anything else in the room besides _him_ , nothing else mattered but the boy before her… the one who was in this position because of her. Because he'd had to save her.

 _ **You claimed to be perfect, you said that you were the greatest amongst your piers... and yet you needed to be saved by someone you called useless!**_

 _But he's not... he was acting far more composed than myself, he came up with plans that saved us... he was a far greater Huntsman than I..._

She stared at him, his body covered in stitches and the previously mentioned tubes that were pumping pain killers she could imagine would be strong enough to knock out a horse… he hadn't awakened yet. She honestly wasn't surprised, though she didn't even want to think about it, she was surprised he wasn't… he wasn't… _gone_.

There had been so much blood.

He'd looked so peaceful though, like he'd already gone… his skin pale and clammy, his hands had slipped numbly onto the ground and his eyes had fluttered closed. In her hysteria, she had been so convinced that he'd already literally died in her arms… her screams had apparently signalled the arrival of both her own, and his, team.

She hadn't even been aware of their presence, too hysteric at what she thought was the corpse of the boy that had saved her in her arms, until she'd been dragged away by a crying Yang onto the Bullhead while a stretcher, carried by medics burdened by what must have been medical equipment, had begun to work on him…

She had been taken with him, apparently due to minor lacerations to her legs and arms from when she'd hit the ground after the Major had hit them both the first time and shattered her aura, but their respective teams had been forced to stay behind and wait for a secondary Bullhead… she didn't exactly know why, it was all the doctor had told her when they'd come to check up on them both. She could make the educated guess that it was due to the fact that even the smallest amount of extra weight slowing down the craft could have meant life or death for the brave young man before her.

How he was alive, was something that she still didn't know the answer to, but frankly she was just thankful that he was… when she'd calmed down enough to be mostly cognisant of her surroundings, the first thing she'd done was leap over from her own bed and take his own hand in hers. She'd needed to know it wasn't another dream… she'd needed to know he wasn't going to open his eyes and smile at her… before plunging a scalpel into his heart… it had taken feeling the warmth in his hand, seeing the rising and falling of the line that indicated his still beating heart and pinching her skin hard enough that she thought she was give herself a permanent blemish… it had been worth it though, all because now she knew… he was alive. He was here. Close enough that she could hold his hand once more if she needed to. If she felt the need to once more remind herself that this was indeed real.

"Miss Schnee?" came a voice from behind her, she stared at him for a while longer before she forced her eyes to turn to the sight of Headmaster Ozpin standing before her with a grim expression on his face as he too stared at him.

"Oh… Hello, headmaster" she said with a distracted lilt in her voice, she wanted to be polite, but she _needed_ to keep and eye on him. She needed to be able to react the _second_ anything happened, it was the least she could do for him… after everything she'd done _to_ him and he had done _for_ her.

"I would ask how your day was going… but I can imagine you may take offence to that" the man said without a hint of humour in his voice, though she just about caught the sound of him taking a gulp from his coffee mug. "You know… Mr Arc was quite fortunate considering what happened, things could have been much worse"

In a fit of anger, she did not know she could muster, Weiss turned with a glare towards the man and may as well have spat acid as she stared at him.

"How is this fortunate!? He's lying in what may as well be a coma, I-" she cut herself off suddenly, the realisation as to _who_ she was shouting at catching her like a punch to the stomach. With wide eyes she made to apologise. "Headmaster, forgive me, I-" yet she was cut off by a raise of his hand and a small smile on his face.

"There is no need to apologise to me for being emotional, Miss Schnee. I am already aware of what transpired… and to what you and Mr Arc have been up to these past weeks" he added, and Weiss felt her heart stop for the briefest of moments. He knew? That… oh gods then did that mean he knew about what had _actually_ happened in the training room when she'd… the knowing look he sent her confirmed it. Yet it also meant that he'd known for a while and was not going to expel her on the spot, seeing as he hadn't already… her body was still in a mild state of shock, yet she allowed this small amount of comfort to calm her slightly as she turned back to Jaune. "It may also comfort you to know just how Mr Arc still lives, seeing as a strike from a Major to a person without the continuous protection of aura would, in most cases, lead to their… demise"

The words caught her attention immediately and while she didn't turn from him, Weiss perked up with wide eyes and a thunderous beat in her chest. This one full of hope and expectation, rapidly beating out a tune that near vibrated the white walls. The Headmaster saw this, apparently as he let out a small chuckle and began to speak once more.

"Before I do, do you remember anything happening to Mr Arc during or after the battle with the Major? Anything out of the ordinary happening? I am aware that remembering it will be painful… I can see it in the way you look at him, but it may make it easier to explain to you my theory on the matter"

His question caught her off guard… did she see anything out of the ordinary?

Thinking back, Weiss remembered how much more… proficient he'd been when fighting the Ursa. There was no hesitation or overextending swings focused on pure, raw and pointless power. No, his attacks had been calculated and efficient, letting him take out two on his own and a third with her help… _I was so certain that he would perish… yet he wasn't the one to get distracted so as not to hear or see one coming right at him, like I did…_ but that must have been a simple uptake in his training with Pyrrha, showing that even he-no. Someone as _unassuming_ as Jaune could prove themselves to be a good fighter. Yet that didn't hold any relevance as to how he had survived. What else had happened?... She remembered seeing the jaws of the Ursa closing in, when he had roared in _fury_ , such unadulterated and ferocious fury as he plunged his sword into the beasts' head, then… then it must have swung its' claws into him. It would have torn through his weakened aura and dented armour. It would have torn right into him. All that blood… all those tears and screams that had erupted from her as she begged him to stay with her. All that-

"Miss Schnee? I believe if you grip your arm any tighter you may end up hurting yourself" the Headmaster said, tearing her from her fearful thoughts to find her fingernails digging painfully into her arm, she could see her aura straining beneath it.

Wrenching her arm away, she tried to once more focus on what she'd seen… until it hit her.

"There… there was a flash, a bright flash like someone had set off a vial of lightning dust…" she mumbled, forcing her mind to not remember seeing him lying on the ground… how fast she had run to get to him.

"Ah, yes, that corresponds well with my theory" the man mused, taking another audible sip form his mug. "Well, what I believe happened was something extraordinary… As I'm sure you are aware, Mr Arc has sustained severe damage to the skin and muscle around his chest, but the shocking thing is… his vital organs are in near perfect condition" Weiss found herself reeling around before she could catch herself, staring in shock at the man before her. That… that didn't make any _sense!_ She knew he must have had minimal damage to the organs to have survived the strike, but… none at all? Once more, the headmaster saw her surprise and continued... though Weiss was a bit confused to see the intensity with which the headmaster looked at Jaune... "They _are_ working overtime what with his aura still being _very_ low and the fact he is still in danger, but they are still perfectly fine in terms of any damage the Major could have caused. What I _believe_ you saw Miss Schnee, was Mr Arc activating his semblance"

"What!?" Weiss yelled before she could even think, her mind awhirl with thoughts and ideas. _But… that would mean Jaune must have some kind of healing semblance or something like it! He must have used it just before his Aura broke! But… that means if he hadn't then… oh gods…Wait..._ _then that also means if Jaune wakes up then he could heal himself! He could-_

"I do, however, believe it was not a voluntary action, more it was his soul and body forcing it to activate to save him, explaining why he didn't flare it up before he was hit to stave off any harm that may come his way. Mr Arc has shown no sign of having a semblance of any kind, so it is more than likely this was his first use of it… I am sorry if my initial words got your hopes up"

 _Oh… of course… of course he wouldn't get so lucky… he always does seem to have the worst luck_ she thought, sparing the poor knight a sad smile, they had only just begun to grow the smallest amount of positive before they had been shot down, her mind conjuring up the last words he'd said to her… _especially when it comes to who he falls in love with…_

She felt a wetness begin to crawl down her face, bringing her hand up she realised tears were beginning to come down her face. She knew the reasoning behind them, it was that love that had caused all of the pain for them both. A love she had been so confident was fake. A love she had thrown back into his face… a love that had caused him to stupidly risk his life by the apparent rage that had overtaken him when the Major had been about to end her life…

 _ **You hurt him every time he sees you. Why don't you just do the clever thing and stay away from him? That way he can finally be happy...**_

She felt her hand tighten around his own, his palms were clammy and cold... yet she did not care in the slightest, if holding his hand was all she could do for him at the moment, then that was what she would do.

"Thank you for the information Headmaster… at least I know how… that's a small comfort at least…" she whispered, her gaze turning back to his own… it was almost like he was sleeping… if only.

"Well, it will be of even _more_ comfort to you to know that, from the moment he awakens and is deemed fit for duty, I will be having Miss Goodwitch personally train him in his semblance for she has more experience than most when it comes to… temperamental semblances"

Once more, Weiss found herself rapidly spinning to the professor who wore what could be passed off as a smirk that was quickly wiped away mere moments after she saw it.

"B-but… Professor! That's… why? Surely, it would be better to let him master it in his own time, wouldn't it? Besides, wouldn't that single him out amongst the school?"

She had no idea where the last part came from, but she knew it was true, Jaune had garnered enough attention that was most definitely negative. He didn't need any more… when he woke up what he needed was relaxation and comfort… meaning she would have to stay away from him so as not drag back up those painful memories of her cruelty to him…

"Hmmm… while you are correct, Miss Schnee, that it might make him stand out amongst his peers... I believe it would be necessary for the benefits such a semblance could offer to people who were harmed during a Grimm attack. He could even possibly, hypothetically, resuscitate someone who was in a coma. I believe Mr Arc would be more than happy to accept such a role, don't you think?" he enquired, his knowing, ancient looking eyes staring right at her with an intensity that made her pause in her retort. He was being unusually pushy for the usually laidback man, but Weiss was forced to admit that he had... valid points...

"I… I suppose that would be up to him…" she said, her eyes once more finding his face, his hands and what would become severe scarring once he awoke… if he awoke…

"I quite agree" he said with much more cheer in his voice that made her furrow her brow slightly in suspicion. "Oh, I should mention that, while Mr Arc's team won't be able to visit till tomorrow due to them currently going through a small counselling session after what happened to their leader, I imagine team RWBY will be along shortly to check up on you as I just made certain they were made aware of your state" he said, with a coolness in his voice that once more made her question as what was going through the Headmasters mind… she was broken from these thoughts as the Headmaster opened the door, going through it but turning around to look at her once more. "I am aware you have been through a rather traumatic experience, Miss Schnee… if you require help in any shape or form, please do let us know. If not, I fear Miss Rose may drag you to it anyway" he said, bringing a mirthless chuckle from her as she heard the door close.

She was now, once more, alone with him… She gently moved his hand and lifted till she cusped it in her lap… when had it been so large? It was easily near twice the size of her own, and clearly had the developing of callouses from where he was gripped his sword and the handle of his shield… they would only have been gotten from intense and constant training. She remembered mocking him, saying he was weak and would never make it as a good hunter. While he had shown little skill at the start of the year, she could not deny just how much he had improved in the short time she had known him. How easily he had handled those regular Ursa, she could honestly imagine him being able to possibly take out that damn Major if he could just get his confidence up enough to not doubt himself…

Her eyes travelled up from his hands and up towards his, surprisingly toned, arms and further on until she got to where the stitches started.

They ran across from his upper stomach and up his chest, four aggravated and bruised slashes across body, small amounts of dried blood around the edges made it clear that the wounds were not clean slices. Instead they were ragged, obviously caused by his armour staggering the path of the claws. While that would normally have been seen as worse, the fact the claws would have likely dug far… _deeper_ meant that she was thankful he'd worn that armour he'd always been so proud of. Maybe she could...?

Black, surgical stitches ran across each and every cut, keeping them closed as best they could.

She looked up towards his long neck, passing by his pronounced jaw and then to his lips. They were dry and chapped, she could imagine just how dry his mouth would feel if- _when_ he woke up.

Going upwards, she noticed he had a faint bruising around his nose, possibly done by the blunt edge of a claw. She imagined, with how silly he was, that he would more than likely try and make his aura heal that first. Probably go on about how it annoyed him that he couldn't breath properly…

Instead of going for the main focus of her looking, she instead looked further up to focus on that massive mop of blonde hair that near glowed in the dark when it was hit by a light just right.

She had always thought of it as ratty, messy and unclean but now… now she felt an odd urge to run her hand through it and pull out the hair tie they'd had to use to keep it back as they'd checked for damage across his face and neck. Those golden locks never would have looked right all combed out and gelled up.

Finally… with some small amount of hesitation, she looked at them.

Though they were closed, they seemed to be moving slightly beneath the lids, the movement was rapid and frantic in short bursts as if he were panickily looking for something. She tightened her hand around his own in worry, yet she was surprised to find that the twitching actually slowed ever so slightly. It… why did she her squeezing his hand cause that? She shook her head angrily, those thoughts led to dangerous territory.

"Which room do you think she's in?" came the frantic and quick words of someone she felt like she wanted to hold her right now… not that she would ever admit to it.

"I dunno Rubes but… just remember, Weiss was _not_ in a good place when those guys took her and Jaune away… Gods, it's a miracle the big goofball is still breathing, and I think the last thing Weiss needs right now is more stress. You and I both know how bad things were between her and Jaune, but for her to act the way she did when we found them means something _must_ have happened between them" came the oddly calm sounding voice of Yang… it sounded so motherly and kind, the total opposite of her normal behaviour but right now it made her give the faintest of smiles that she was showing such care for her. She was also glad to hear the two of them talking once more, she could hear the mild hesitation in Yang's voice, but her partner had clearly lost any animosity she had for her sister which made her small grow just a little more.

"It's true, the mental stress she's been going through, alongside the fact she hasn't been sleeping well, would normally be more than enough to cause problems. But… her reactions and how she held him… it makes me think something happened while they were alone… It might be best to not remind her of the things that happened between them beforehand. She must be feeling incredibly guilty right now" ah… there was Blake with her simple and blunt approach mixed with brutal honesty… the smile turned into a frown as she felt a few more tears leak down her face.

She really was feeling so incredibly guilty… for everything… she had done so many horrible things to him and he hadn't deserved any of it… she was not going to make any qualms that Jaune was innocent of saying anything terrible to her, but if they were to go by percentages then she was taking up a far greater amount than him… all the terrible things she'd done, yet he'd come to her rescue when she needed him most of all.

He was a kind soul, a gentle young man and a caring individual who would put his own life on the line for those he cared about… even those who didn't deserve it. Why had it taken her so long to just admit that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to the room she was in being opened, and the subtle noises suddenly went silent.

"Weiss?" came the sweet, caring voice of her partner, she turned to her, knowing her eyes were streaming with tears and yet she didn't care. It was in the instant that her dear, kind partner saw her, that she felt herself become enwrapped in a hug that pinned her arms where they were. Though her hands still held onto his own, large one, she let her head dip down onto her chest letting the tears fall as she hiccupped slightly as she heard and felt her other two friends envelop her.

Yang putting her arm around her back and gently rubbing her shoulder while Blake simply put her hand on the other one and squeezed it lightly, she might have chuckled if she could have stopped her crying, Blake was always a little awkward when it came to physical contact but the care was there.

For a long while they simply stayed there, holding her as she cried, all the while her grip would occasionally tighten on his hand as she did…

Then, after a time much longer than she might have thought was necessary but most definitely wanted, Weiss pulled away from them with a faint smile that quickly dipped as she turned her head back to Jaune… still lying there with not a hint of any chance of him awakening.

"How is he?" came Yang's slightly hesitant question, though it was loaded with possible replies. 'not awake and not giving any sign of waking up soon' 'looking so close to death that holding his hand and watching the monitor is all I can do to remind myself that he's still here' 'trying to keep his body alive while his aura begins to slowly heal him from what should have been a _very_ fatal wound'

Those were all answers that immediately came to mind and yet she knew they weren't a proper answer to give.

"He's… alive… I don't know how-well, I and Headmaster Ozpin have a theory… but, that's all I can really say, his wounds were closed as best they could and his heart rate is a little high, but still very much there… he could take a turn for the worst, but apparently he has no damage to his internal organs" it wasn't much but she knew her team would understand that she wasn't exactly a medical expert, despite her title as Heiress to the Schnee dust company, it didn't mean that she was trained to be a doctor.

Though, she was fairly certain she got some hearing loss from the squeak that erupted from Ruby, as the girl grabbed her shoulder with a look of disbelief.

"What!?" she near shouted, before being dragged off by Yang who gave her a mildly angry look then turning to her with a small smile that showed her own confusion.

"Okay, while I think we're all incredibly happy that Jaune is in much less danger than we all thought, how… how the heck is that possible?" Yang asked incredulously, getting similar looks from the still shocked looking Ruby and a mildly perplexed Blake.

"Well, Headmaster Ozpin came in a little while ago-" and so Weiss told the rest of her team of her meeting with the Headmaster. She told them of how he seemed to have a deeper knowledge of what Jaune had done than he suggested and that he seemed to take an odd amount of interest in what they were assuming was his semblance. She also told them that help had been offered to her for what had happened… and had made it clear that she would go if she felt the need.

"That's… wow, okay that honestly… just… wow…" Was all that Ruby could muster as she too took to looking at Jaune with a relieved, yet sad, look on her face.

"It would explain why you saw that bright flash… Maybe it was his Aura flaring to such a high degree that it instantly healed what would have been a fatal wound as best it could?" Blake queried, her thoughts actually making sense to Weiss as she thought back to it all… only to have tears once more form in her eyes as she remembered the reason for why he was injured in the first place…

"It's all my fault you know…" she mumbled, though it may as well have been a shout for how the atmosphere turned tense once more.

"Weiss… you can't seriously think that, right? Jaune got hurt fighting Ursa, it's not like you shoved him into it! Besides, we all know he's not exactly the best fighter…" Yang mumbled the last part, she imagined it was due to the fact he was right in front of her, but what focused Weiss's attention most was just how wrong she was.

"Heh" she chuckled, with a small sob coming from her throat. "That's the thing, he was actually doing rather well… he took out two Ursa on his own with what seemed like such ease, helping me to kill another in a team attack like we had been doing it together our entire lives. Then… then the Major showed up and things got harder…" she said, refusing to go back and think of what she had been thinking during that fight with the Ursa, not the terror she had felt during the times she thought he was going to die… nor the odd feelings when he had looked at her with those intense eyes… she would not allow herself to think on _any_ of those thoughts right, if only to stop herself going into a full blown sobbing fit once more.

"It attacked us by first charging straight for us and, while we both dodged the attack, it crashed through a tree before coming right back at us, choosing to go for Jaune as he was forced to flee from its' charge" it was at this point that she remembered what had occurred moments after, when he had come right back towards her with wide eyes and jar of sap in hand. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she gently ran her thumb over the back of the silly boys hand. "Then, with a look in his eyes that made it clear that he had a crazy idea in mind, he came right at me with a half empty jar of sap in his hands. I was right of course, he apparently decided that distracting the beast with a stick covered in it while I snuck behind it with the rest was a good idea… and… well, I'll admit that it was. I snuck up from behind at an elevated position and removed the lid of ice I'd placed on it and threw it right at its' face, the stupid _beast_ lost an eye as a shard of glass impaled one of those _disgusting_ orbs. With it blinded, I descended and impaled its' rear leg as it rose onto them and shot lightning dust through, making me think I had near fried all the nerve endings from the waste down as Jaune took his chance to finish it… what we _thought_ would finish it…" she once more felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder that was most definitely Ruby, stopping her before the sob she could feel rising in her throat could erupt.

Taking in a deep breath, Weiss made to speak once more.

"He impaled it right through the chest all the way to the hilt, before he tore the blade free like it was nothing! Then… as with most of his silly and dangerous plans, something went wrong in the form of, what we thought was the _corpse_ of the Major, crashing down towards him. I don't know how, but I just _moved_. I had already tackled him to the side by the time it got near him, feeling myself land atop him as his arms wrapped around me…" the warmth in her cheeks filled her with a burning anger. "I don't quite know how, but we ended up laughing like children as we smiled at each other, revelling in our supposed victory… I made to apologise to him you know? As I looked at those happy eyes of his, I looked back upon all the events that had happened and I realised that… that I was the one at fault… I know Jaune did some bad things as well, but let's be honest I was the one who was more in the wrong. I was horrible to him. Despicable to him, even. I even went and ruined a nice day between Ruby and I just because I managed to come up with some delusional idea that him being out with what I _assumed_ was his new girlfriend-" that… that's what she had to be, right? Just a friend for what he had admitted to her on that bloodied ground… "-was a ploy to hurt me once more… So, I decided to apologise to him, to try and make up for all the terrible things I had done to him… but, of course, something went wrong… The Major, apparently it wasn't dead." She felt a small growl escape her throat as she thought of the bastard beast. "It swung at Jaune and I, both of us taking a heavy hit that must have severely damaged his own aura and shattered mine… when I next opened my eyes, it was to see what I thought was my death about to bite down on me and end it all right then there. I closed my eyes… it disgusts me, but in that moment, I was so afraid… I didn't want to see it coming… begging it to be quick. But you just had to go and play the hero, didn't you, you silly knight?" she asked towards her unconscious companion, unaware of the concerned looks her team gave each other.

"All I heard was the roar of fury he gave as he must have jumped and buried his blade into the skull of the beast… it was a lethal blow, and would have instantly killed a normal Grimm, but apparently the Major wanted to get one last hit in… I remember a bright flash, which I now know must have been his semblance activating, then opening my eyes to see the dying Ursa breath its' last as it died at my feat. I remember how much joy I felt when I realised what he'd done… then it all turned to ash w-when I s… saw him…" this time she couldn't stop the ragged wail that came from her, her body falling atop his as she wept tears onto his arm as she gripped his hand, a small part of her begging him to wake up, to ask if she was alright and… and hold her when he realised she wasn't. "D-Do you know what he said a-as he faded in m… my arms? He said that… he said, despite e-ev-everything I'd done to him, that he still lo-loved me! That he still loved me that he was _sorry_ that he couldn't leave me alone like he thought I wanted!"

She shook as she was held once more, her entire team holding her as her ragged sobs and hiccupping breaths came like a maelstrom, not stopping for anyone or anything until they were done.

"Th-that's why it's my fault! He… he nearly died because… because he loves me… he stupidly performed a suicidal attack on that beast all because he s-saw… he saw the girl that he l- _loved_ in danger and just attacked… I was the one to draw the Grimm there when we started to argue… despite the fact he was just b-being what he always is… kind to a fault, asking the st-stupid girl who said she hated him, what he'd done to _hurt_ her and saying how _sorry_ he was... I just had to go and be angry and yell and scream at him, it was _my_ negativity that brought them! If it wasn't for me… if it wasn't for me, he would be okay! It's all m-"

She was stopped mid cry by a warm body that drew her in and pushed her head into the crook of their neck and shoulder, large and powerful arms wrapping around her shoulders and gently pinned her there. She didn't know why, but she just buried her head into their shoulder and sobbed.

The drums were thunderously beating, the cords plucked to the point they might snap, the keys slammed down with enough force to make her ribs feel like they might shatter. She cried and cried and cried until she couldn't anymore. Eyes red raw, throat letting out pained gasps as they simply couldn't let out the sobs and wails anymore.

It was finally then that Yang released her ever so slightly, lowering herself down to look her right in the eye, even as Weiss rubbed them.

"Weiss" she started, her voice strong, calm and serious. "You aren't going to believe a word I say right now, but this _isn't_ your fault. Jaune would have done this no matter what happened between you, you know that. You could have been the best of friends or complete strangers and he would have done it for you. I think we can both agree to that" Weiss managed to nod her head sullenly, he really was that way… he'd always done his best to be kind to those he thought deserved it, even if they were indeed, complete strangers. "Yes, he admitted that he still loved you. But that love means that he would never regret what he did and didn't blame you for any of it. I bet if you try and apologise to him when he wakes up, he'll be all confused and scratch his head like he always does, asking what you're sorry about in a typical Jaune fashion" that managed to get the briefest of smiles from her, before her watery eyes turned to him and her hand sought out his own… it was quickly becoming one of the few things that kept her calm, to hold his hand and feel the heat that radiated from it, the _life_ that radiated from it. "Like I said, you're not gonna believe a word I say, but I just want you to know that none of us blame you. Not me, not Ruby, not Blake and _especially_ not Jaune… and I'm gonna keep reminding you of that every time you even try and blame yourself, okay?"

Weiss felt her head nod as she let out the smallest of smiles, really, Yang could be such a caring and gentle person when she wanted to be, not that she would ever admit to that. She imagined the brawler would deny it anyway, just to keep up her tough persona.

"I'll make sure of that, I've got my eye on you, Schnee" came Blake's voice, a smile on her face that showed just the faintest hint of a teasing glint. Blake just kept proving the two of them could really become good friends… best friends even.

"Listen, ummm… visiting hours are going to be over soon and we're gonna have to go back. Do… Do you wanna come with us? I can make you some cookies and Yang can find a good movie to watch before bed… if you want to of course" Ruby asked shyly, her smile that motherly and knowing one that made her look older than her years and personality suggested.

She wanted to agree, to say yes and allow herself to be led away by her dearest friends and try and _finally_ get a full nights' sleep… but she just couldn't… not when he was lying there… when he could possibly awaken at any moment. If he woke up to a quiet and lonely room with now idea how he got there? She _needed_ to stay to avoid that. She needed to stay and be there for him… just like he'd tried to be there for her. Her saviour and hero deserved as such, even as her anger rose once more as she called him her hero without thought, bringing a flush from her neck to the tips of her ears.

"I'm sorry… I think it's best I stay with him… at least until his team can get away from their therapy session and come to see him. I d-don't want to leave him alone right now, I am fairly certain the staff would have said if I had to go by now, plus my leg is still giving me some pain from the small cuts I received to it" she replied, getting knowing smiles from her friends who all gave their own little murmurs of understanding before she was gently wrapped in a four way hug once more… really, these people were going to give her an addiction to all this affection she was receiving.

As her friends said their goodbye's, making it clear that they would be awake for a while if she changed her mind, Weiss let her small smile fall…

Yang was right. She didn't believe her. Not for a second. She was disgusted with herself for all the pain she had caused this sweet, caring boy.

The one thing that upset her more, however, was the feelings and thoughts that had been going through her mind ever since his confession to her as he lay there bleeding out on the ground beneath her as she sobbed and begged him to stay with her…

The heat that built in her cheeks as she thought of the way he'd looked at her with those intense eyes and how powerful he'd shown himself to be as he slew those Ursa with an ease she never thought would come from him.

The fluttery feeling, she got as she felt his skin beneath her own, the heat, the callouses and the size of them.

The words he'd spoken that would not leave her mind no matter how much she begged them to. The words that showed how much he loved and cared about her.

She knew what it all meant… and Weiss Schnee had never felt more self-hatred or been more disgusted with herself…

 **WELL! Jaune lives but isn't going to be waking up from his run in with the Ursa any time soon.**

 **What are Ozpin's plans for the young Arc and what he assumes is his semblance?**

 **What will happen when team JNPR comes to visit their injured leader?**

 **And… what will Weiss do with her new-found information?**

 **All to come my friends. Until next time.**


	18. Apologies

**_EDITED_**

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Apologies**

Coco Adel was not in a good mood.

In fact, she was in a downright murderous mood.

One directed solely at a little, white haired bitch who had gotten someone who meant _a lot_ to her seriously hurt. To the point that he was currently lying somewhere in the medical wing after having his chest ripped apart by a _fucking_ Ursa Major!

She'd taught him how to fight and survive against regular Ursa and _maybe_ be able to _get away_ from a Major until someone else got there to help him because people seemed to think that 'common' meant easy when it came to Grimm... tell that to hundreds of Huntsman who'd died to a pack of Beowulves because they'd thought they'd be 'easy'

Well… someone _had_ been there.

Her day had been going rather well, she had been gleefully awaiting the return of her scrawny beanpole of a friend, when she'd seen a sight that had made her heart stop and her body feel like a shard of ice was sliding down her spine.

Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose walking down the hall with worried and slightly frightened expressions on their faces, hell the Rose girl was even crying... She had quickly run over to them with worry, though if she were being honest it was more due to her knowledge that Rose was pretty good friends with a certain someone that meant a lot to her.

"Rose!" she'd shouted, causing the girl to jump in mild fright and her sister to turn to her with slight suspicion in those lilac eyes of hers. "Easy there, Blondie, just a little curious as to why you all look like someone just shot a puppy in front of you" she'd questioned, trying to hide her mounting dread as Rose's eyes went wide, before they dipped to the floor, that little twinkle she always seemed to have in them fading to nothingness.

"You're… You're Jaune's friend… right?" she'd questioned, and Coco had, had to force herself not to openly show her fear as Xiao long pulled her into a small hug and Belladonna turned her head away in obvious upset.

"Yeah! Yeah, I am… did… did something happen to him? Get a little scratch from a branch or a splinter in his finger?" she joked, though the way that they all looked at her showed that her normally calm and cool demeaner was failing, and quickly.

"No… he's, he's really hurt… I-" Coco had been on her before she could continue, glasses off and staring at her with wide, fearful eyes. She was damn glad her semblance wasn't active because she was sure that the look Rose was giving her said all she needed to know about her emotional state.

"Please… Please tell me what happened…"

And so, she had.

She'd told her _everything_.

She told her of how, when their teams had arrived at Forever Fall, she had seen him talking to Valkyrie with a smile on his face as she and her team had gone down into the woods. She'd immediately known that he'd apologised to her, and she him, which'd brought a smile to her face at how much of a big softie he'd proven to be... but she lost it pretty damn quick when she heard Rose's next words...

She told her of how bitch had apparently spoken to Xiao Long and apologized to her for everything, she was annoyingly a little bit proud that she'd grown a pair and done so… that was until she heard about what happened next.

Apparently, she'd gone off to apologise to Valkyrie after she'd spoken to Xiao Long, and that had been the last she'd heard of her until Rose had gotten that damn alert on her scroll.

Rose had started to full on sob as she recounted what happened next, seeing _her_ crying and screaming over what had looked like the corpse of one of her best friends, all that blood… all those screams and wails… the sound and sight of the bullhead rotors as he'd been lifted away with _her_ … that he'd been emitted into the medical wing and was there with… _**her.**_ It wasn't exactly a hard decision for her to make when she decided to place her hand on her shoulder and take away her pain... such a sweet and innocent kid shouldn't feel the way Rose did right now... even if her mood got all the worse as she felt what the little whirlwind did at the moment.

The way she had looked at her with such an incredulous look on her face might have made her laugh if the situation hadn't been what it was. She'd immediately charged off, grabbing her scroll in a panic as she'd called Velvet, which led to now as her girlfriend picked up in a panic of her own.

"Coco! Have you heard!? Where are you!?" she screamed down her scroll, it was shaky, and she could only see the edge of her face as she was clearly running at breakneck speed down the halls of the school, those storng legs of hers probably meant she'd get there long before her and if that fucking bitch said a _single_ bad thing to her, she would gladly accept the expulsion she'd get for what she was gonna do to the Schnee!

"Near the first-year dorms! I'm about ten minutes from the infirmary! I swear I'll make that bitch pa-"

"Coco!" Velvet's angry screech shut her up as she actually stopped to stare at her scroll in utter shock. "We do _not_ have time for that! Jaune is the only thing that matters right now! His team is in pieces from what happened, and I need you to stay focused! _Jaune_ needs you to stay focused!"

She… she was right… as much as she wanted to end that bitch for what she'd caused, from what Rose had told her it had most definitely been her fault that he got hurt, the last thing Jaune needed was for her to go tearing apart the school making Schnee pay, hell, it could probably make things worse...

 _I'll just wait until that little stain on existence is alone..._ she wasn't going to even pretend that she felt in any way bad for thinking something like that.

"Yeah… dammit you're right… I'll be there as soon as I can!" she admitted, not getting a reply as the scroll call was immediately cut off and Coco began to run once more, letting no tears fall.

She would not cry.

She was always the strong one for people she cared about.

She was _always_ the one who looked after them because that's what a team leader did! That's what a Huntress did! That's what _she_ did! She looked after those who needed it and she knew one person who needed her right now.

 _Hang on Jaune, I'm coming you big, blonde idiot!_

* * *

Velvet Scarlatina had no idea what to expect when she charged into the infirmary. The only thing going through her mind had been _please be okay, please be okay!_

She imagined the receptionist didn't expect for her charge in through the reception and not even bother to stop when she was shouted at for coming in after visiting hours. She would apologise later, her friend mattered far more than any politness she might have usually offered!

She was very certain she did not expect to hear what she did, when she got to the room which she'd found out Jaune was in… Only that it filled her with an uncommon anger...

She had been about to enter the room, when she heard a voice… a voice that sounded so tired, so sad and so _familiar_.

"Heh… I wonder what you would say if you could see me right now… If you could see the mess I've become because of this whole horrid affair" the voice of Weiss Schnee, sounding oh so apologetic, was all she heard even with her Rabbit Faunus hearing as her eyes widened in shock…

With what she had seen of the Heiress to the dreaded Schnee Dust Company during her interactions with her friend, and what the distraught Team JNPR had told her when she'd seen them all in tears on the way to Headmaster Ozpin's office, she hated him with all her heart.

So, why would she be even in the same room as him, let alone speaking in such a kind tone?

"Knowing you, you'd do your best to try and cheer me up, I remember you were purposefully silly for Ruby when she accidentally damaged Crescent Rose… How you made Nora pancakes when Ren got sick the one time to cheer them both up... You even allowed Yang to turn you into a punching bag when the training rooms were being refurbished! As always, you were kind and goofy… I guess that's part of your charm" Velvet stilled at her words, begging the thoughts that came to be wrong _oh… oh gods… please don't tell me this is what I think this is… was Coco right about what she felt when she touched her? Don't you dare!_ _You are not allowed to hurt him anymore!_ She internally yelled, ready to barge in and yell at her with all her might! She didn't care if she was shy! She didn't care if she was nervous! She would not allow her to do this!

With her hand on the handle, Velvet made ready to tear it open!

Yet, she was stopped when she heard her next words…

"… You always cared more about others than yourself… Even after all the horrible things I did to you, even after all I said to you… You still put me before yourself… you silly, brave, idiot. Look what you did to yourself for someone who didn't deserve it" she heard a gentle hiccup, and with it was no small amount of shock that she realised that the Schnee was crying. "You'd... p-probably get upset at me for saying this… but there's a small part of me that wishes you hadn't saved me… that you'd just ran… I know you'd get anrgy at me and tell me to not say it again, but… but I really do. _Gods!_ What has happened to me? I don't get like this!... I don't let my emotions run wild like this… heh… then again you were always good at getting me to be emotional. Though… I doubt you ever thought you'd manage to make me… make me feel like _this_ … I really am a terrible person, aren't I? I constantly reject you and make you feel terrible… so why…? Why now? Why did you have to nearly get killed for… _this_?"

Velvet released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding as the girl took a pause… This girl was not the one who'd screamed and shouted at him… she seemed so sorry and worried for him- _No_. She couldn't forgive her. Not after what she'd said to him. Not after she'd wished _that_ on him. She had no right to want to be with her friend.

She opened the door and watched as the hunched form of Weiss Schnee, sitting next the bed of her friend, his hand in both of hers as her shoulders hitched a few times before she straightened up.

"What do _you_ think you're doing here?" She said with an uncharacteristic amount of venom in her voice, that might have surprised her if all her attention wasn't focused on the Schnee girl. Her words to Coco about what was more important forgotten, a red mist threatening to descend.

With a start, Schnee turned around, eyes puffy and red, makeup ruined and body visibly shaking. She actually looked frightened for a moment, before her lips set into a thin line and her eyes turned back to her friend.

Those hands of hers tightened their grip on his, her eyes scanning over the vicious wounds he'd gained from his fight with what could have only been a Major. The roughness of the wounds and the amount of them made it clear that it could only have been the Grimm known as the Great Bear... How... How had he survived something like this?

"I'm staying to look after the young man who saved my life." Was her only reply, as if it was answer enough, Velvet happened to disagree with that.

She grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to turn around, to which she only got a tired look of indifference.

"Do you really think you have the right to be anywhere near him right now? After all you've done? After all the horrible things you said and did to him?" she growled, feeling her hatred for the girl before her grow every second she was near her, nearly full on going to punch her when the Schnee girl let out a small chuckle.

"No… No, I suppose I don't… but I am going to stay here until he either awakens or I know for a fact that he will be okay… it's the least I owe him for what he did for me" she said with a determination that made it clear she'd have to literally drag her from the room if she wanted her to leave. The fact she considered actually doing it said volumes of her rage for the girl.

"What, planning on trying to convince him to give you a chance now that you have seen some of what makes him such a great person?" she spat, watching the girls shoulders tense and her breath hitch before another small chuckle escaped her.

"Oh… So you heard all of that, I assume?" she didn't bother to give an answer, instead viewing the stitch work for any problems or errors in case she needed to put her medical training into practice, glad she'd taken that emergency aid course earlier this semester. She doubted her work was even _close_ to the abilities of the medics who must have attended to him, but... Well she couldn't help but worry. "Heh… well, I want you to know, seeing as you're his friend, that I won't be pursuing a relationship with him"

"Oh really? Pride too much? Can't bring yourself to try and worm your way into a _filt_ _hy_ _commoners,_ heart? Too low to be worthy of your time? Guess you really can't actually feel anything for him if that's the case" was her reply, only to have Schnee wheel on her with a shocked and angry expression.

"No!" she yelled, her face flush and eyes wild as she glared at her, only to seem to catch and collect herself moments later. "No… no, that's not it…" she looked like she wanted to give her reason, and yet stopped herself short.

"What then? You better start making sense because Coco will be here soon, and she will much less kind than I am when she sees you" she could imagine that she wasn't too far off now and from the way Schnee's eyes widened, it was pretty clear that she understood the _very_ real threat in her words.

"I… He deserves someone that can treat him with kindness and affection, as well as someone who can stop him when he's being stupid thinking it's bravery…" Velvet was annoyed that she found herself agreeing with her, watching her move back to him and tuck away a stray tuft of hair that had landed over his eyes. "He deserves someone that he can give all that love to, someone who will be able to return it without hesitation. Someone who will never hurt him and will be able to be open with him about their emotions… _I_ am not that person, that I think we can agree on…"

Velvet wanted to oh so badly agree with her, to make some sarcastic response her girlfriend would be proud of and rip this girl a new one… so why did she feel a shred of guilt at the thought?

In any case the moment passed, as Schnee spoke once more.

"When… when he wakes up, when I know he's safe, I'll leave, and he will never have to deal with me again. I will speak to him if he approaches me with all the kindness he deserves, but I won't seek him out. I will let him forget about me, find someone else he can love… Someone he won't need to say it to as they think he's dying to make them believe it"

The words were, at the very least true, Velvet had learned both from having to deal with racists pretending to be kind and being with Coco, how to tell when someone was lying… Schnee's words were true and _she_ seemed to fully believe them…

Velvet once more found herself lost for words… Did she really care that much for him now? Did his happiness truly mean that much to her that she'd sacrifice her own? She wanted to laugh at herself for thinking something like that, there was no way **_this_ **girl could care for him like that after all she'd done to him…

Only… only the more she thought about it, the more her actions made sense… the frantic way she acted around him… the fact she very clearly hadn't been sleeping all that well… the way she got furious at Jaune and herself when he'd hugged her…

She had cared for him all this time… and just hadn't wanted to admit it to herself. Going so far as to lash out at him in her turmoil.

The storm that must've been her mind would have been horrendous; first rejecting him, then being told by him to stay away from him as she'd gone to apologise to him apparently for her behaviour, and clearly gaining the start of what must have been feelings if the way she apparently acted was anything to go off. Coco had told her of rumours of the Schnee girl acting odd around her friends and especially Jaune himself. Not saying a single bad word against them, acting weirdly calm and relaxed yet having a very obvious tension about her. When Jaune had rescued her from Cardin and his team, Schnee had apparently locked up in what could only be described as fear and nervousness as she'd seen him, doing it once more as he'd walked past her with Velvet herself in tow.

Then that fateful day when both she and Jaune had been locked in that room, while she hadn't heard the whole thing, she had heard enough to know that Jaune had apparently said something that had set her off, likely him trying and failing to make the situation better, they had ended up in a screaming match that had finished with two broken teams and no winners.

Then, everything else had happened, it seemed so obvious now that what Schnee had said to her hadn't been her truly thinking that Velvet was part of some sick little game to hurt her… no, it had been her tired and erratic mind trying to make sense of what must have been an incredibly upsetting sight for her, said mind automatically assuming that she and Jaune were a couple…

Despite vehemently trying not to, Velvet felt the smallest amount of sympathy and worry grow inside her for the girl beside her, and a new understanding for her volatile nature towards her friend.

It was not out of pure hatred that she'd said and done all those things to him.

It was because she was experiencing something she'd likely never had to deal with before and the added fact she'd hurt him only messed with her mind more. She was scared, confused and panicked. Then things just kept building up to a point where she must have had to put a wall around herself to block out all those painful thoughts and feelings… Velvet knew that feeling all too well. Not able to take what is happening to you, so you instead just block it all out as best you can and _deal_ with it in the only way you can. For herself it was to simply remain quiet and try and be ignored by those that sought to hurt her… while the girl before her had gone with anger instead. Lashing out at the one who brought all those painful things right up to the surface because she didn't know what else to do.

"Well… I can say I respect that at least… I doubt he'll agree with your decision but, well, I can't say that I don't…"

But that didn't mean she forgave her. Not in the slightest. This girl didn't deserve even the _smallest_ kindness from her.

"I blame you, you know… All his pain and his suffering, I blame you. _You_ were the one to break his heart in the first place. _You_ were the one who made him feel all that pain and anger. _You_ were the one who got him hurt. _You_ … You were the one who told him to kill himself..."

And with that, something inside the girl seemed to break.

Her body froze, her shoulders looking as if they were set in stone and she swore she could feel the entire temperature in the room drop. There was a sudden and intense pressure that seemed to be building all around her and, while she hated to refer to herself in any such way, all her instincts were screaming at her to flee and hide.

"Don't you think I know that?" she said, it might have been seen as a question to some… but Velvet could feel the hatred and fury coming from the girl… she knew she was not supposed to answer. "Don't you think I know what I said!? What disgusting, horrific words came from my own mouth!? Well I do!" she screamed, turning to her with streaming eyes and a burning fury raging inside them. "I do and you have _no_ idea how much it has tortured me to know that I can _never_ take those words back! To know that I said those words to him with such fury, in such a _finite_ nature! Do you know what happened after that!? _Every_ night since I have been plagued by night terrors of him doing just that! Of him smiling at me with such… such _horrific_ wounds and blood pouring from the hundreds of lacerations across his body! Every time he would always make some note that it was his fault, that he was to blame and never deserved me to begin with! That he should just die! Then… then, ignoring my screams and my begging for him to stop… he would jump… he would jump from the building we stood on and die. But he would almost always be smiling right up at me with such a kind look in his dull eyes… It doesn't stop. The worst thing though? I actually don't think I **want** them to stop. It's what I deserve for daring to wish death on him! I deserve to be tortured for what I said to him! He only ever wanted to help! He only ever wanted to make me happy! He-"

The girls' screams were cut off as Velvet did something she didn't quite register until she'd done it.

She moved forward and forcefully pulled her into a hug, her arms snapping around her and pulled her into herself.

She held her while the girl stood there in shock for a little while, unsure as to why she'd done it, unsure as to why she'd done this to the person she felt such anger towards at the moment.

She was also not sure as to why she kept her hold on her as the girl's tears stained into her shirt and her entire body shook from the pain that must have been going through her.

It was only when the girl started to push at her, did Velvet make a decision on what to do.

She pulled her in tighter and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she sobbed, her voice cracking with the effort. "You hate me! You blame me for all his pain! So… so why are you doing this!?" she shouted, her confusion near as much as Velvet's own had been, until only a few seconds prior.

Through her screaming, her tears and her mess of words… she realised something… something that made heart hurt… she was punishing herself… worse than anything either she or Coco could have ever done to her… self hatred in its' purest form and the girl welcomed it... thanked it for being there to remind her of what she'd done.

"I am angry at you… you caused him so much pain. I do blame you. I blame you for being the one he fell in love with. I blame you for not being able to see past his awkwardness and nerves to see the sweet and caring boy beneath it and at least give him a chance. I blame you for making him cry and feel all those horrible feelings you made him feel… but I don't think I can blame you for everything… You're clearly suffering as much as he did because of all this, you just took a different path than him. I can't just forgive you for what you did to him… but I don't think he would forgive _me_ if… if I just threw you out of the room right now… if I just left you alone to suffer… he really does love you, you know? He kept denying it and saying how much he hated you, but I could see it… that small little bit of sadness every time he thought about you. That is the only thing I can say I hate you for… for how much he fell for you… only to have it not returned. So I will give you this one chance. I will allow you to try and prove to me that you in any way deserve his kindness"

Her words were a shock to her, but apparently they were more of a shock to Weiss.

"W-why?" was all she asked as her body went rigid against her own.

"Honestly? I don't know… I have every right to despise you and I can't imagine you'd disagree with me. But I don't think I have it in me to cause you any more pain than you're putting yourself through. That chance still stands… though know you'll have to do a lot of work to prove that you even deserve to call him friend. Let alone someone who is much _more_ than that. I don't want to hear you say that you don't deserve to be with him. Because I _know_ you don't. Right now, at least."

"…I'm sorry…"

Letting out a small huff, Velvet spoke in an agitated tone.

"I don't want to hear any more 'I'm sorry' from you… I-"

Yet she was cut off by the girl who managed to pull her head away from her and look her dead in the eyes, even from her slightly lower height than Velvet's.

"N-No… I'm sorry… I'm sorry for what I said to you… it was cruel and callous and completely undeserving to you. I can see how much you cherish him as a friend just from the way you spoke to me… You are a better person than i could ever hope to be..."

 _Oh…_ that was all that went through Velvet's mind at her words, she had not expected that… not in the slightest.

"That's… a good start…" she muttered, detaching herself from Weiss and looking at the still form of her friend with a sad smile, the two of them going to sit down on either side of his bed and watched him in silence, Weiss taking hold of his hand once more and Velvet found it did a lot more for her opinion of the girl than any words she could have said. It was clear to her that Weiss was doing this as much for him as for her... that need to hold him in some way, to be able to feeln his pulse and the warmth of life inside of him... she imagined the girl would have gone into a panic if she were away from him for too long.

The wounds were slowly healing, she could tell that, his aura was slowly coming back with each passing minute and she could see the faint signs of it going to work on what was going to be some cruel looking scars across his body.

Honestly, what a doofus of a friend she'd made… then again what was she to expect from someone who would fall in love with the girl opposite her? The thought almost made her laugh at the hypocrisy of the thought, considering how she had literally just told that girl that she was okay with her trying to be with that doofus friend.

"I'll be staying here, if I can... can I trust you to let me stay?" she asked, Velvet looking to her with a quirked eyebrow.

If she was allowed to stay, which was something she was fairly sure of seeing as she herself hadn't been removed... well... she didn't _like_ the idea, but she had already said she'd give her a chance.

There was also a small part of her that thought, being around her friend and being able to see him still breathing and healing, might help her... a kind side of her that, annoyingly, directed itself towards Weiss.

"Yes... I think it will be good for both of you... Though you'll have to forgive me if I'm thinking more for Jaune seeing as I'm going on a mission tomorrow, I'd prefer if he woke up to a friendly face. Even if I don't trust you... I can, at least for now, tell you have his best intentions at heart"

Weiss didn't reply, instead she grew the minutest of smiles and nodded her head.

They were unaware of just how much time had passed, simply sitting in not so uncomfortable silence with their eyes trained on her friend, until they heard a knock at the door, both of them turning to see a rather nervous looking nurse approached them. A mouse tail that hung limply at his legs giving away his Faunus nature.

"I'm… afraid visiting hours have been hours have been over for quite some time Miss Scarlatina… you will have to leave…" he said, not even looking at Weiss, for reasons she could unfortunately imagine.

"Oh… alright then…" she said sullenly, seeing Weiss begin to get up as well, only for the nurse to speak up in a quiet tone.

"A-actually Miss Schnee, you're allowed to stay… H-headmaster Ozpin said that due to… to your injuries, you are required to stay the night… j-ju-just please… no more shouting?"

Weiss was once more obviously shocked by the words spoken to her, her face showing puzzlement for the briefest of moments before she nodded her head slowly and sat right back down, looking at Velvet who nodded her head at her. She felt she deserved to start earning that chance anyway.

As Velvet left the room, she let her head drop and released a sigh, looking to her left as she did.

There stood her girlfriend, Coco, with an unreadable expression on her face and not making a single motion to come towards her...

"I'm going to assume you're extremely angry at me for what I did?" she said in a quiet voice, she had very good reason to be angry at her... Velvet was still trying to comprehend exactly what she'd just done, only fully aware of the fact that she could have just thrown a serious wrench into her relationship with her still silent girlfriend. "I... I'll leave now... I'll leave you alone..."

It was in that moment that Velvet first found her hand being grabbed, then her body being slammed into a wall and finally the lips of her girlfriend as she was roughly kissed and her face was held in place by two shaking hands. Her body was thrust into the wall even more by Coco's, literally pinning her to the wall and leaving her immobile as the kiss went on.

The kiss was not anything she'd experienced before... it was desperate and afraid, forcing all of this and more into it as she felt a small amount of liquid fall down her cheeks, realising that Coco was crying made Velvet tense up and grow a small amount of fear and worry in her chest.

This seemed to do the trick to getting herself released, at least partially, as Coco stepped back with a huff of air and stared right into Velvet's eyes, the blush that had formed on her face growing even larger at the intensity in those eyes of hers.

"Don't you _ever_ think I'd be so angry at you as to just let you leave like that. You understand me, Velvet Scarlatina?" she nodded dumbly, unable to do much else due to her mind trying to process something _else_ happening that made it spin. "Good. Now... Do you honestly think that was the right thing to do? To give that bitch a chance?" she questioned, though the tone in which she spoke made it clear that she was not going to try and strongarm her into agreeing with her own opinion... Velvet knew she was asking for her genuine answer.

"Yes... I think Jaune would want to give her a chance... and so do I. I think she'll fail and prove to me that I was right to not trust her... But I don't think I could hate her without giving her the chance to prove me wrong. She's torturing herself Coco, I know you heard what she said... I honestly think she believes she deserves what she's doing to herself and more... I can't, in good conscience, make her life any worse than it already is"

"She told him to _kill_ himself Velvet" was the response she got as Coco dipped her head, only for Velvet to feel a little brave and take her hands and place them on her cheeks and pull Coco up to meet her gaze.

"I know... she clearly remembers it all too well... she wasn't lying, I could tell, when she said she'd been getting night terrors from it. I can't imagine what it must be like for her... knowing that the next time she falls asleep she'll have to relive it all again... I'm not saying I will be her friend or anything even close to that. But will you please humour me on this? I... I honestly think she deserves the chance to prove she can change and be a better person"

Coco was silent for a moment, and Velvet could feel the tell-tale tug on her very soul as Coco took on a small amount of the love and care she was more than happy to give to her... it was reserved for her and her alone after all.

"I hate her..." she said simply, though it did bring a small smile to Velvet's face. "I hate her _so_ much for everything she did to that lanky idiot in there..."

"I know you do... You always did let your emotions show all the more when people that matter to you were concerned..." she huffed a laugh as Coco did the same, her chocolate brown eyes a little red and filled with determination.

"She messes up _one_ time. **_One._ Time.** and I'm going to beat her to a bloody pulp. I'm not even sure what I'll do if she does and I get my hands on her" she growled out, her gaze settling on the door Velvet had just emerged from.

"Not unless I get to her first, she can be my first live test for my weapon if she does" She joked, seeing the little smirk that spread across Coco's lips.

"Okay... Okay then, I'll trust your word Bun. Never failed me before and I don't plan on ignoring it now"

"Thank you Coco... I love you" the words managed to get a rare blush from the girl as Velvet once more felt her lips come in contact with Coco's. this was much more gentle and chaste than before however, more sweet and loving than anything else.

"I love you too, Velvet" she said with all the love she could muster then, with a quick smack on the rear that blew away the gentle atmosphere that had settled around them, Coco broke into a grin and started to travel back in the direction of their dorm room. "Come on then! If I can't spend some time fussing over my favourite idiot, then I plan and getting a good nights sleep since we still have that Mission to go on tomorrow!" she called, Velvet could see that it was hurting her that she couldn't see Jaune, meaning she would more than likely have to become a Faunas body warmer tonight as Coco would undoubtedly want to be near her for comfort under the guise of something perverted... Coco hated admitting that she was scared to others, but Velvet didn't mind. She would always be here to be that shoulder if she needed it.

As she began to walk down the hall to her dorm, she took one last look at the door to Jaune's room.

 _Prove me wrong, Weiss. Prove to me that you deserve this chance or I swear I'll make you regret ever coming to this school_.

 **Yep, the rest of Team JNPR are on the way and so is a coming storm.**

 **Secrets will come to light and much needed words will be said.**

 **Heh... always a bit of an awkward one for me, seeing as I'm usually the guy who has to play mediator in scenarios like this amongst friends.**

 **My opinion on the matter is thus; If someone truly seems like they might deserve a chance to prove they've changed or will change their ways if they negatively impact those around them on a level like this. Then they deserve a chance. But only a _single_ chance. If they mess up then they're done and I will cut them out of my life entirely.**

 **It's a simple fact that suicide is _never_ to be taken lightly or have the word tossed around like it's okay to say. Weiss has _a lot_ of work ahead of her to prove she even deserves to be given a chance by Velvet and Coco... though as for the rest of the Jaune's team.. we'll find out next time.**

 **I have been in a situation like this before, where someone I cared for said something quite similar to what Weiss did to Jaune. I gave them a chance and they let me down, ending up basically saying they didn't regret saying it when people made it clear they didn't want to speak to them for what they did.**

 **This is my way of putting into words how I wished things had gone. That the chance I gave wasn't wasted, Weiss's redemption will be hard fought and will cause her a lot of heart ache, but I hope you enjoy how I do it and understand that I'm coming from experience on the matter.**

 **Until next time, Elderfire1**


	19. Dealing with pain

**The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Dealing with pain**

Pyrrha Nikos, for the first time in her life, was truly and utterly terrified.

Her mind a mess of thoughts, feelings and the ever mounting and unending dread that filled her entire being.

Jaune was hurt. How hurt, she did not know for sure, but the fact that professor Oobleck had just told them that he was currently unconscious in a hospital bed in the medical ward and did not show signs of waking up soon, but was expected to make a full recovery…

She wished she could have taken solace in his words, she wished she could have smiled at him and thanked him for telling her that… yet all she could feel was her pain increasing.

Why hadn't she been there?

Why hadn't she stopped him from going and explained that talking to Yang after the trip would have been a better idea?

 _Why had_ she _been there!?_

She must be the reason he was currently near comatose, she must be the reason he'd been so badly hurt.

She had been there, screaming and crying over him with his blood covering her body… what had she done? What had she caused to get him so hurt? Just what events had transpired to get her so emotional for the state they'd found him in…

The images stabbed into her thoughts in an instant.

All that blood, his near lifeless body hanging limply in her arms.

The medics desperately trying to stitch the wound shut while the Bullhead pilots got the ramp descended and getting the stretcher ready to take him away, all the while she had been screaming his name in terror while she was dragged back by a crying Nora and Ren with all the force they could muster.

Once more, a recurring thought went through her mind.

A truth she had to believe because it was the only thing that made sense right now.

It was all her fault.

"Miss Nikos?" a voice snatched her attention from her turmoil of thoughts, she looked up with red raw eyes and dishevelled hair to see the concerned face of Dr Oobleck. The lanky professor had been the one to meet them when they arrived at Beacon, their bodies shaken and faces stained with tears. He hadn't said a word to them, instead he had taken them under his arms and took them to his office. When they'd been sat down, because she remembered how they had simply stood there in shock, he still didn't say anything to them. instead he'd offered them a box of tissues and silently sipped at his coffee while they'd calmed down... Now Nora hung onto Ren as the boy gripped his chairs' arms with the strength of steel. While Pyrrha herself?... She simply sat there with a glazed look in her eyes. "Did you hear me?" he enquired, though the way he raised his eyebrow at her made it clear he knew she hadn't heard whatever he'd said.

The idea of lying to him, lying and trying to imagine what he'd said, didn't even cross her mind.

She wanted this to be done with so she could go and see him. she _needed_ to see him.

"… No… I'm afraid I didn't…"

"Heh… well, I will admit you have a good reason to be a little… distracted at the moment" he said, voice sounding far too old for him, especially when considering the Professor didn't seem to be in more than his early thirties at most. "I was asking you how you were doing, I am aware just how close you and Mr Arc are… and the team in general. This cannot be easy on you, I imagine you are also still in shock if I were to take an educated guess"

She supposed she still was, she imagined she should still be crying her eyes out right now, shouting at the teacher to let her see him, to let her see the boy she recently found out was alive. Threatening to move him aside if he tried to stop her.

Instead… instead she felt more numb than anything else, like her body was refusing to accept what had happened could possibly be true.

"I… am not well, no" she admitted, her eyes drooping to the floor as she felt the oddly gentle hand of Nora rest atop her own, the ginger brawler looking at her with a pained expression on her face. "This… this shouldn't have happened, I should have been there for him! I… I should have made him stay or _something_. Instead I was a fool and let my partner get hurt…"

Dr Oobleck stared at her for a little while, his glasses falling down his nose slightly so she was staring into his troubled eyes, a blue that reminded her of Jaune… this realisation led her to turning her head away from him, getting a small sigh from the teacher.

"Miss Nikos, while I truly understand your pain, far more than you could ever know, you are not the first Huntress to have to deal with their partner coming to severe harm-"

"But I am not just another huntress!" she yelled, interrupting the doctor before she could stop herself or even come to terms with what she had just done. "I am not meant to fail! I was meant to protect him! He isn't as good as everyone else! I promised myself I'd protect him, teach him how to become to Huntsman I know he can be!"

"Do you think you're the first prodigy to come to this school? Or are even the only gifted student in the school right _now_?" he enquired, his expression deadly serious, his usual erratic manner was gone and was replaced by the grim expression of a man who seemed to be tired with the world. "Because you are not. I have seen many people who thought they could protect everyone, thought that they were to become the world's protector and could defeat anyone and anything that threatened those they cared for. Do you know what they, and therefore you, have in common?" he asked, leaning forward in the dark leather chair behind his paper laden desk to stare at her, making her feel rather small underneath the lanky professors gaze.

"N-No… No, I do not"

She had the feeling she did not want to know the answer he was going to give.

"They all failed. They put so much time into trying to protect everyone that they ended up being too mentally and physically drained to do just that. There is also the fact that, if you were there to save your partner, what would have happened to him next time? And the time after that and the time after that?

"What do you think would happen to Mr Arc if he got into the mindset that you would always be there to save him? He would not live up to his true potential, to the effect that he would not get any more capable in combat. Coinciding with this, what do you think will then happen if Mr Arc _does_ get separated from you on a more dangerous mission and ends up facing something like a Silver Back Beringel or something even deadlier? How do you think he will fare?"

 _He would die. Killed because of you not letting him grow._

The dark voice in her mind told her and she struggled to disagree with it… was she really being like that with Jaune? But… she was helping him get better!

 _Yes… but how often do you test his limits? How often do you push him to the very brink of exhaustion like your trainers and parents did? Or… are you letting little things slide? Think of how much he improved in the short time Coco began to constantly push him to his limits. You were just too busy being selfish and making it last longer than it needs to for your own enjoyment._

Clearly the man saw her expression for what it was, and continued without her audible input.

"This may seem incredibly cruel to say, but the very fact that Mr Arc still lives is proof of his indominable will to survive and that, given that this was only possible due to the furious training regime he was being put through by Team CFVY, which we are also aware of by the way considering we monitor the training rooms via cameras, it might be the case that Mr Arc might thrive in a harsher training environment. To be pushed to his very limits and tested in his strengths and have his weaknesses exploited until they become negligible"

His words left them in silence, all contemplating his words, yet none more than Pyrrha herself.

He really had improved during the week Coco had assigned herself as his 'coach', not to become an outstanding Huntsman in training, but he was much more competent than he had been at the start of the week… to survive, and more than likely land the killing blow, against an Ursa Major.

"You… You want to put our leader into serious danger that he probably can't handle, just because you _think_ it'll help him get better?" Came the dangerously close to angry sounding words of Nora, her own eyes were puffy and the small amount of teal eye liner she wore today had long since been rubbed off her face. She had a near threatening scowl on her face, something which was odd for the normally cheery berserker… though Pyrrha could hardly blame her, Nora was the kind of person who took things to the extreme when it came to strong emotions… she must have been suffering greatly at the thought of Jaune being in pain after she had finally gotten to talk to him.

Dr Oobleck didn't even seem fazed by her aggressive question, in fact it seemed like he had expected it.

"No. What I am saying is that he needs to be pushed, far more so than you have been Miss Nikos. You made the right choice to allow Team CFVY to help him… the last thing I want is to put him in danger the likes he has been put through today. More that he needs to have his hand held less and given the chance to learn from failure against Grimm and adapting his style to match it. Miss Nikos, while helping a partner become greater than they are is something I am proud of you for, it is also important to let them grow on their own as well"*

"I… I…" she couldn't finish whatever she was trying to say… What could she say to his words? She knew that Jaune had become quite good under her tutelage, but… it was true she did go a little easier on him… Was she really slowing his growth?

"Now, back to the subject at hand, seeing as we got a little off topic there" he said sullenly, though she could tell the pain in his words was born from them realising what was to come. "While I am required by the school to provide help to teams suffering through the pain of either the severe harm or… death of a teammate, it is also because I requested it. I am more than aware of what such an event can do to a team. And so, I ask, not as a teacher nor a doctor, but as a man who has seen this happen far too many times for his liking… How are you all holding up? I am well aware the pain is still fresh so I am not expecting to be recovered and fine after such a traumatic event, so don't feel the need to try and act brave in front of me"

 _What he actually means is that 'I will know if you try to lie to me about your current mental state'_

It was Ren who spoke first, his expression grim.

"I… I have lost people I love in my life, people that meant the world to me… Jaune has become like a brother to me in the short time I have known him, and I am… I am afraid for him more than I can express… the thought of losing another person that is family to me, is not something I ever wanted to feel again"

Ren lost the colour throughout his entire body and she could only guess that he was using his semblance to try and calm himself down which would have been mind boggling to witness from the normally stoic boy, until today that was. Nora put her hand on his own and looked at him with a sad smile before pulling him into a gentle and kind hug.

"I can understand this must be painful for both you and Miss Valkyrie due to your… difficult pasts, but you must keep in mind that Mr Arc _is_ alive and that he will be needing both of you when he wakes up just as you need him. It will not make the pain you feel at the moment any easier, but take solace in the fact he is highly likely to make a full recovery"

"You… You told us that he'll be okay, but… when we saw him, he was really hurt. _How_ is he okay?" Nora questioned, showing off just how intuitive and clever she could be when the need arose.

"A good question, Miss Valkyrie, and one I can actually answer for you" he answered, pulling out what appeared to be a rather put together folio from a drawer in his desk, rifling through it until he clearly got what he wanted. "From what we could gather, and chose to share with you as his team, Mr Arc seemed to awaken his semblance upon being hit by the Ursa and it would seem to be a highly powerful healing semblance, due to the fact that Mr Arc has sustained no damage to his internal organs despite them very clearly being on the path of the Ursa's claws"

"What!?" Pyrrha found herself shouting, in utter disbelief as she stared at him with wide eyes and shock, obviously shared by Ren and Nora as the crack of Nora's chair as her hand snapped the arm in her surprise. Ren's eyes widening was his only reaction, except for a moment later when his arm snapped out and pulled the still gaping Nora into a one-armed hug.

This, however, didn't last.

Her shock quickly gave way to a sensation she hadn't felt since she'd seen him seen her partner and friend bleeding out on ground.

it gave way to happiness... happiness for her Jaune managing to pull something good out of such a terrible situation.

"He… he awakened his semblance? Haha… I knew he could do it… I knew he could prove to everyone he had what it takes" she smiled the smallest smile… she could take this small solace at least… "You say it's a healing semblance?" she asked, that smile on her face growing just a little more, it made complete sense if it was the case.

Jaune always wanted to help people, he always wanted to be the one to save the weak and defeat evil. Some may have called it childish and naïve, yet she had always admired it about him. To be able to go into the path to becoming a Huntsman with the only thought of wanting help people and become a hero… it was part of the reason she'd begun to fall for him.

And, if his semblance was able to affect others as well, the ability to save people from the brink of death is something she could imagine Jaune taking great pride in and would make him an invaluable asset in the defence of towns and people.

"Yes… it was actually quite the pleasant surprise to find out about a semblance so focused on the preservation of human life" he said, a wistful little smile of his own playing across his lips. "Now, I believe it is your turn Miss Valkyrie… I imagine you might be feeling akin to Mr Ren?" he enquired, only for the small smile Nora had gained to fall as she shook her head and looked into Dr Oobleck's eyes.

"No… not that I don't feel like Jauney is family, but no… Me and Jauney had a really bad fight a little while ago, to the point where it put _a lot_ of strain on our team… I did something really stupid thinking it would help and all it did was make it worse. Then, after… after we finally made up in Forever Fall… when th-things looked like they were going to _actually_ get better, he got hurt… I thought h-he was… oh gods… I feel like this whole thing is just one big joke, just one big joke to keep on hurting me and people I care about" she lamented, the cheery berserker no where to be seen.

"Miss Valkyrie… Life can, at times, often seem like a joke being made at your expense. At _humanities_ expense. We face the threat of creatures that have the biological need to try and kill every single one of us. They control 95 percent of the planet. They come in such variety and differences that we can never be certain we are ever truly safe from them… Yes, this can seem like a joke… But would Mr Arc want you to think like that? Or would he rather you focus on the positive things, such as the fact he very much alive, it may not be much to help the pain you feel at the moment, but in the long run I hope it soothes you to know he is safe until he wakes up. There is also the fact, that you also just told me that you solved whatever issue the two of you had, correct?"

His question was answered by Nora raising her head and frantically nodding it, seeming almost offended by the notion that she might have lied to him in any way shape or form.

"Then, there is also something to take joy in. Because I imagine he will want to see your smiling face when he awakes, why I imagine it might make him laugh to see your rather _exuberant_ nature the moment he awakes" he said, attempting to bring some humour to her.

While she didn't show any outward extreme signs of cheering up, Nora did sit up a little straighter and her grip on Ren increased just a little, making the boy crack the smallest of smiles.

"Pain is a natural thing to feel, to try and deny it will only detriment you and those close to you… as I'm sure you are aware from Mr Arc what this detriment looks like…"

Pyrrha's eyes snapped open, seeing Dr Oobleck looking at her with a knowing smile, to which she could only ask "More cameras?"

"No… more that I know what a pained man looks like, unfortunately it is far too easy for me to spot these days" the man looked to grow even more sombre and a faraway look entered his vision, the slight downturn of his lips made the three students turn to each other with the same question in their heads.

"Doctor… correct me if I'm wrong but, you seem to be talking from personal experience…" Ren enquired, a worried look on his face.

The question seemed to catch the Doctor in his thoughts, the man jolting a little and his eyebrows raised as he looked at them, the usually unflappable professor looking shocked briefly.

Then, with a pained smile, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Yes… Yes, I do… and I suppose that showing you a further case of why moving on from pain is a good thing, would help" the pressure in the room grew as a grim expression crossed his face as he began his tale. "When I was a younger man, I was stationed alongside my team in a small border town just south-west of Vale. We were there to protect the town while the civilians were moved to another town twenty miles west of our location with larger walls and far better defences… this was because of a massive Grimm migration who's path was going to crash through the town in what the scouts had predicted in a matter of days"

"My team and I were considered some of the most gifted of our generation, our heavy hitter was a giant of an Atlesian man by the name of Lawine, his name in the old tongue of Mantel means Avalanche, which I suppose was fitting for his nature. He was a gentle, calm and happy person who loved nothing more than to help people, like the gentle falling of snow that brings a smile to a young childs face, especially Faunus seeing as he wanted to try and prove that not all Atlesian's were cruel to the Faunus. That he could break the mould his people were known for. Why, I remember he once used his rifle-battle axe to cut down half a forest just to help build an orphanage all the faster for people who couldn't give him anything… Yet… at the merest hint of cruelty, suffering or mistreatment of those that could not defend themselves, his name was proven fitting. I once watched in awe as he slaughtered a hundred Beowulf's to save a family that had been caught unawares as they travelled between villages. His semblance 'destruction' quite literally destroyed anything in his path, even if he was only able to use it once per day. Hahah… you should have seen how red his face went when the daughter kissed him for saving them"

"Next was his sly little partner named Volpe, apparently in his tribe it meant fox and was incredibly fitting for both his nature and fighting style. You see he was cheeky, wily and sly, able to fast talk his way out of most situations, those he couldn't he simply distracted and confused them to the point he was able to get away scot free. The man fought with his wide array of abilities and skills alongside his pair of mecha-shift daggers that could turn into pistols… alongside his rather… embarrassing 'ability' to get most women and men into his bed, he once talked a bandit queen into not attacking a town by offering to spend the night with her… heh… I will give him this, he always made it clear he wasn't after a relationship before he bedded them. I will say, his semblance 'mist' made it ever so easy for him to lure Grimm into traps, it allowed him to manipulate the air moisture around him to make mist projections of whatever he desired, slightly similar to Miss Belladonna's if that helps, though it did come with the negative side effect that he couldn't use it continuously. The original one had to fade or be attacked before he could use it again or it severely drained his aura"

"Then… then there came my own partner… a Faunus woman named Skönhet-"

"Beauty…" whispered Nora, before she covered her mouth for interrupting the doctor's story.

Yet the man only cocked an eyebrow at her and made a 'go on' gesture.

"B-beauty… I came through a town as a kid that had a lot of southern Atlesian's in it and they used the word a lot when they saw something they liked, or thought was… well… beautiful"

"Heh… Yes… yes that's quite right, and just like the rest of my team, her name was incredibly fitting… honestly when I first saw her I thought she was an angel sent by the brothers themselves, halo and all… it was to my great embarrassment that the 'halo' was actually her antlers, proudly displaying her heritage as a reindeer Faunus. I remember how hard she laughed when I muttered it in awe at the sight of her, haha. She was a tender and innocent soul, to the point that Lawine treated her like a little sister and Volpe made it clear that anyone who tried to make a move on her would have to go through him. you should have seen the what happened the first time someone treated her poorly just because of her Faunas heritage, they had him tied up and threatened to launch him into the emerald forest if he didn't apologise. She was graceful and powerful; her dust flail could spin through the air so smoothly that the Grimm often didn't know what was coming before she'd smashed their heads off. She was always so kind to everyone, I never realised it at the time, but she was actually even kinder towards me. She even used her own large intellect to help me pass an exam on a class I struggled with without ever being asked to. All she would ever reply to my questioning was 'Cuz I like to spend time with you'. She always treated me with respect and care. She was also never afraid to speak her mind if she questioned something I said or simply wanted clarification... it was because of her that I know as much about the Faunas as I do. I will be honest when I say I was smitten with her the moment my eyes laid on her" he said, casting a meaningful look at Pyrrha, feeling a small blush creeping up her face as he did.

"Yet… yet I could never bring up the nerve to ever ask her out… I never felt good enough or brave enough to ever ask her out, yes, I am and was academically gifted and my skill as a Huntsman back then was nothing to be scoffed at, but she was just perfect in every single way. Even her semblance made her greater than I. 'sooth' as she called it, was a semblance that removed all negative thoughts and feeling from her targets and replaced them with a calm and pleasant aura that made them far harder to detect by the Grimm. Too good for the likes of me who was too busy putting his nose into books to focus on becoming as good a Huntsman as I could be. However, once Volpe and Lawine found out, due to them catching me trying to convince myself to bare my feelings to her, things got quite a bit more complicated"

"Contrary to what I believed would be their reaction, the two of them were overjoyed to hear I was emotionally invested in her, claiming I was perfect for her and that, and I quote, 'I was so scrawny that if I hurt her they wouldn't need to interfere as she beat me up herself'… heh… those were good times… and so, with constant and near aggravating amounts of encouragement, they convinced me to ask her out once we completed the mission I just told you about. But… as I'm sure you may have already guessed; I never got the chance"

Doctor Oobleck paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath and taking a sip from his thermos, his eyes scrunched shut as he seemed to take in a painful memory.

"The Grimm… they came much earlier than expected… it was in the middle of the night and we were all tired from a day of loading supplies, we only became aware of their presence when a guard came running to our house next to the wall to warn us, only to be gutted by a Creep… Thousands. There were thousands of them. Nevermore, Ursa, Beowulf, Death Stalker, Beringel… there were just too many. They broke through the walls in moments and tore through the guards before they could get prepared"

"We tried to help the civilians in any way we could, but there was just no way we could save them all… Men, women, children. Young and old. Strong and weak. All were slaughtered before our very eyes… they did not did pick who they chose as their prey. It was only a matter of time before the worst happened…"

"Volpe was the first to die… He took on a troop of Beringel that were about to kill the woman he had been with the night before. He used his semblance to distract them and grabbed her, throwing her out of the alley she had been cornered in and telling us to get her to safety, blades stabbing into the eyes of a Beringel that tried to chase her and then firing into its skull and killing it instantly. However... However, he used his semblance far too quickly to make it appear like there was a wall between them and us… and he paid the price… his aura dropped into the red within seconds and an unlucky hit from a Beringel that had followed up on one of its' brethren's attacks was all it took to shatter his aura. They tore him apart before we could react, his dying words were him telling us to run…"

"Lawine was next, he spotted a group of Grimm trying to smash into the home of a young Faunus girl he had made flowers chains with that morning, her parents trying and failing to hold of a ravenous Ursa Major. He charged, using his axe to cleave them apart with reckless abandon, ignoring my order to wait for us to get to him. I was forced to watch, unable to get to my friend as I was forced to deal with my own group of Grimm, as he fought in front of that house, killing more Grimm that I could count and refusing to let any get past him, using his semblance to lay waste to a pair of ancient Death Stalkers before they could get close… yet I think even he knew that could not hold them off forever… the last I ever saw of my friend was him turning to me with a smile and whispered at me to go before the horde closed in once more… It was Skönhet who dragged me away, her semblance forcing back the tortured screams that threatened to tear through me, forcing my mind to calm as I looked to her and the few people we had managed to save… I knew I needed to save them. To complete what my friends had died to make happen. I ordered them to follow me, taking the lead while Skönhet took the rear, keeping an eye out for Grimm trying to follow us. I don't know how long we all ran; I know we lost a few of those with us though. Some tripped and were grabbed by creeps and dragged away kicking and screaming, others were pounced on by Beowulf's that were hidden in the ruins of houses… yet I made them all keep running… the only thought in my mind to get them and Skönhet to safety… I could see the Bullheads pulling out, I knew we only had the smallest amount of time to get there… and yet we did. I nearly hurled people onto the nearest Bullhead, only to be thrown on myself by a charging Skönhet"

"I thought we were safe as we started to pull away… I thought we were getting away… but of course it wouldn't be that easy. We felt them before we saw them. The fangs of a King Taijitu digging into the underside of our shuttle. As I looked into those soulless, red eyes of the beast trying to drag us back down into the hell below, I knew in that moment what needed to be done… I needed to assure these people got away. That these poor people got to see another day… that… that the woman I loved could live on and find the happiness she deserved… It was in that moment that I turned to look at her, prepared to say goodbye, when it happened"

"I felt the barest touch of her lips upon my own, my eyes widened in shock as I looked at her. Marked by dirt and blood not her own, tears fell down her face as she looked at me with that smile that always set my heart ablaze… she said something to me in that moment… words that I will remember till the day I die. 'sorry for not telling you how I felt sooner' she said it with shaky sigh before she jumped… I couldn't stop her… only able to slam my body into the wall as I watched her jump onto the Taijitu and kill it with single hit… and killed any that got close to the Bullhead as it took off, the ocean of black held back for the briefest of moments that allowed us the escape… only for the very briefest of moments though… I was later told I screamed the entire time, calling the names of my fallen friends and allies, begging them to come back… begging them to come back to me…" the professor trailed off as he stared into his mug, tears falling down his face.

Yet, it was the cool and collected man they had bore witness to a few minutes ago that faced them when he looked up.

"I could have let that event control my life… to let myself be drowned by the darkness and suffocate me… yet I did not. I refused to let my friends' memories be tarnished like that. Instead I did what I know they would have wanted me to do… I lived. I lived for them and to try and help people under my care to not repeat the mistakes I and many others have made. For Volpe, I live life like it could be taken away at any moment. Doing anything and everything I can to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation, no matter what, even forsaking sleep when I come across something that could help humanity as a whole, because if my suffering a few sleepless nights can help even one person… then it will be worth it. I know my teaching practices can be rather… frustrating at times, but I know more than a few of you take to heart some of the things I say to you which is all I ask. You take in the parts that matter and understand that points I try to make. For Lawine, I dedicated my life to helping teach equality and the mistakes of the past. It's why I became a teacher… it was something him and I had talked about a few times, that we could become trainers of the next generation of Huntsman. It only seemed fit do just that to honour my friend who have his life to aid those who most desperately needed it. For… For Skönhet… Well, for her I try to carry on her caring and happy nature, even on the hardest of days where I feel like I cannot continue, I do for I know it is the right thing to do. Because at the end of the day, just as she did, I will do whatever I can to ensure that people like the three of you get to live your lives as best you can. To smile once more, just like her semblance and personality in general did for those she helped… this may seem selfish… but the reason I am so invested in yours and Mr Arc's situation is because his semblance… it reminds me of hers. Built to help people, if my theory that he can share it is correct, and bring hope to those around him… You will have to forgive a foolish man for such a selfish reason"

"There's nothing to apologise for, Doctor… I think Jaune above all others would be proud to be thought of as helpful as your partner seemed to be" Pyrrha said with teary eyes, smiling at the thought of Jaune being known for healing the sick… being the hero he always wanted to be.

"You know Miss Nikos… I wish I was as strong as you sometimes, able to hold yourself up despite what has happened to your… partner so recently. But sometimes it is better to let yourself go, to let your emotions out, to let the pain out before it becomes too much" he said, hand running through his mess of green locks to end up on his neck.

Pyrrha frowned at his words, yet she could agree… she was known as the invincible girl, the goddess of victory… yet even she felt like she couldn't be strong sometimes… was it truly alright for her to just let go of her composure so fully?

He looked at them again, standing from his chair and walking towards the door.

"You three must think of something. Would Mr Arc… would Jaune want you to be swallowed by that sadness? Or would he rather you fight? Fight to live for every day, live so that your friend will be able to see your smiling faces when he awakes and be welcomed back with open arms and happiness. Feel this pain you have right now… because to ignore it just as terrible as allowing it to swallow you. But use it to learn. Use it as a drive to push on. To keep going and ensure this pain is never felt again… Now. I will let you three go back to your room as it is fairly late, I will see you all tomorrow as soon as classes are over"

They silently left the room, Pyrrha could guess they were all deep in thought, she was too after all. Thoughts of what had happened. Thoughts of what could have been done to prevent it all. Thoughts of how she could help him grow in correspondence to the Doctors words… to let him grow without her watching over him like a hawk. Thoughts on the Doctors last words directed solely at her.

It was only after they entered the room that Pyrrha abruptly turned to them and enveloped her friends in a hug, a deep one as tears fell down her cheeks, her emotions finally being released as she cried into their shoulders as they did too. They cried for so long, their knees giving out as they collapsed to the floor… the three of them held each other in their arms, until they could cry no more…

"'sniff'… I… I think I wanna go to bed… been a crazy day and all" Nora said as casually as she could, eyes still raw and face covered in drying tears. Ren let out a little huff of amusement, nodding his head as they both turned to look at her, questions in their eyes.

"… Yes… yes I don't think I could agree with you more Nora, besides, when we go to visit Jaune, I think if he wakes up that the sight of us looking like we haven't slept will only cause him to try and order us to go to sleep, hahah… he is that kind of person after all…"

"Yeah… plus I think Nora will want to try and bring him his onesie if she can" Ren added, bringing his own brand of humour to the conversation.

"Heck yeah I will! Wouldn't be right for Fearless Leader to sleep without it" she smiled, it was the first true smile Pyrrha had seen on her face since Forever Fall.

As the three of them finally separated, after a final hug which Nora was determined would be known as the 'turn those frowns upside down' hug, Pyrrha went with Nora to get changed in the bathroom while Ren did the same n the room itself. Tear stains were wiped away, hair was let loose and teeth were brushed in silence that the two girls found wasn't as crushing as it was before.

Upon re-entering their room, the two of them separated to go to their own sides of the room.

Pyrrha noted, with a small smile, that Nora ignored her own bed and climbed into Ren's without a word or pause. Ren himself, didn't protest in the slightest, instead opening the covers more and pulling her close as she lay on the mattress… If she listened closely, she could hear Nora's sniffling begin anew, her head pressing into Ren's chest as he held her tightly, resting his own head atop hers.

As she got into bed, Pyrrha thought of only three things.

One; she was _going_ to be there when Jaune woke up… she was going to be there to smile at her partner and offer to go get him a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's cereal as soon as she could pry herself out of the hug, she would surely envelop him in.

Two; she was going to make sure that Schnee stayed as far away from her partner as she could.

Three; the very _second_ she could… she was going to tell him of her feelings for him.

 ***While I agree that Jaune is only as good as he is now is because of Pyrrha and her teachings, I also feel that she would have more than likely gone easy on him and not pushed him as hard as she could have. I love Pyrrha and that will never change but I think her not wanting to hurt Jaune, and an unconscious desire to keep their training going on for longer, may have caused Jaune to not learn as quickly as he could have.**

 **Think of how far he came between s3 and s4, he literally became a very competent fighter and near doubled in muscle mass, because he was forced to work harder than he ever had before and had to more than likely learn from more than a few failures along the way. No, I am not referring to just his night time training, that was more damaging than anything else. More that he was able to help team RNJR take down both an Arma Gigas and the Nukalavee and just kept getting better as time went on.**

 **In fact, despite Ren landing the killing blow, Jaune was clearly the one who could deal the most direct damage with how it reacted to his great sword's slash.**

 **in other news... yep. Pyrrha has finally gotten up the nerve to tell jaune how she feels. what will happen when she does though? find out soon my readers**

 **Elderfire1**


	20. Confronted emotions

_**EDITED**_

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 20**

 **Confronted emotions**

The morning rays of the sun slowly creeped across her face, bringing her from a dreamless slumber… one not plagued by the night terrors she had grown so accustomed to. She pinched herself just to make sure that she was actually awake, not quite believing that she had managed to slumber without those... _horrific_ images taunting her. Slowly, she rose from the rather comfortable bed she had slept upon, a small yawn escaping her lips which she daintily covered up with her hand…

With a groggy expression, she looked about the room, confused as to why she was in the infirmary… had she been hurt? What had happened at Forever Fa- "JAUNE!"

She shouted, leaping from her bed and darting over to his… to find him there, breathing quietly with the sounds of the machines dominating the now quiet room. Still motionless, almost as if he were in a deep slumber, yet she knew better.

Yet she could not help the small smile that came across her face when she saw him, it was almost funny how now, torn up and lying in a comatose state, he could make her happy to see him.

 _You really are the oddest person in the world, aren't you? All those terrible pick-up lines, those stupid little poses you did… gods the inviting to see that horrific movie… all of those I met with contempt and frustration. Really, you've never fallen for a girl before, have you? It must be true if you think that those are clever ideas, though I suppose that lays credence to your insistence that the love you have for me is true. Yet now… after all that happened… how is it now I find myself like_ this _with you? I want to make it clear that I will_ never _see that silly film with you, yet I would not be against seeing something more to my taste? That I think back on those words you said to me, seemingly straight from the pages of one of those comics you enjoy reading and find them to be rather funny. Not that I will ever find myself swooning over such silly words, but sometimes… sometimes a girl enjoys the company of a boy who can make her laugh more than anything else._ She hated the heat developed in her cheeks, she hated the way she smiled without meaning to... she hated this sensation in her chest that refused to leave her be... It was so ironic that she may have laughed if she didn't want to cry instead, the fact that she herself had spent so long saying she hated _him..._ and yet now hated herself far more than she ever had with him.

She looked down when she felt an odd, yet warm, sensation in her hands to find them once more wrapped around his single large one, the tips effortlessly finding the callouses he had begun to develop, once more.

His golden locks hadn't shifted from where she'd left them the night before, proving that he hadn't stirred in his sleep, much to her dismay.

His large body nearly hung from the edge of the bed, making it all the more clear just how tall he was, she could only imagine how awkward it would be if he tried to hug her… she adamantly ignored the rush of blood that flowed into her cheeks.

 _And yet… I do wonder if this is nothing more than me mistaking gratitude for infatuation… what if what I think might be r-… is actually just me feeling grateful that you saved me? I couldn't do that to you, to string you along thinking I cared for you in that way only to realise I actually didn't._ With another moment to _not_ deal with the heat rushing into her cheeks, Weiss further added _I g-guess we'll just have to find… out… what these feelings are then, won't we?_ She suppressed the annoyed growl she wanted to release at her stuttering, Schnee's did _not_ stutter!

She smiled as she once more settled down to relax, opening her scroll after removing her dominant hand from his, and began to read a book she'd been meaning to catch up on… she hadn't been able to relax for the longest time… yet now, in this chair beside him, she felt more relaxed than she had since coming to Beacon... Maybe that was just what Jaune Arc was? Someone who, when you allowed yourself to be a little open with him, could bring this... serenity not found elsewhere? It was no wonder why Ruby saw him as such a good friend, why Velvet and Coco had become so close to him after such a short amount of time and how Pyrrha... well, she found herself not wanting to think of poor Pyrrha at the moment.

* * *

Yang slowly opened her eyes with an unearthly groan, wondering just why the _hell_ she was awake at this time in the morning, it was 6:30 for gods' sake! Yet, with a shaking of her mane of hair to clear away the fog of sleep, she remembered just why she was awake this early. They were going to see Weiss again today, they were going to check on their friend, mainly due to show their support for her and to offer to take notes for her if she decided to skip classes tomorrow. A couple days before, she would have laughed her ass off at the thought of Weiss purposefully missing even a single lesson, yet now she imagined anyone that tried to make her leave Vomit boy would end up encased in a solid block of ice.

There was also a small reason beside that… well two reasons really.

The first one was their worry for how she was handling having to see such a horrible sight, Yang was no stranger to the horrible sights of what Grimm could do to people. Each and every student at Signal had been told _exactly_ what kind of profession they were getting into and just what the creatures of Grimm could and would do to people they got a hold of. While she had no doubts Weiss knew what could have happened to her, but knowing what could happen was a lot easier to deal with compared to seeing it first-hand. Like she had done.

The second… was something she felt the need to bring up with her friends and teammates… who were all currently dressed and seemingly waiting around for her.

"Hey, coulda woken me up, Rubes!" she groaned in annoyance, knowing she would feel rushed to get ready as soon as she got up.

Ruby turned to her, a questioning look on her face, seemingly confused at her remark.

"Yang, there is only one way I can usually wake you up without having to run away for 'waking you up too darn early' and I can't use that. What else was I supposed to do?" the deadpan remark from her sister legitimately shocked her into silence as she stared back at her in complete surprise. "Sorry" she said with a sigh, that same old smile of hers appearing on her face once more. "Still a little shocked over yesterday, guess I just wanted the morning to go okay and being chased by an angry you wouldn't have been the best start" she said with a little giggle, not exactly forced but not full of the cheer and happiness it usually was.

"Huh… yeah, I can agree with ya there… though I coulda done without you basically calling me a freaking sleeping bear, _adorable_ little sister" she grinned evilly, watching as Ruby's eyes widened with horror as Yang dove from her bed and enveloped her in a noogie the likes of which she'd never seen!

Even as she did, she couldn't help but smile as Ruby cackled beside her, yelling about being squished by the boobies and being too young to be suffocated… she'd missed this… But they'd gone through tragedy before and if there was one thing no one could ever say about her family, was that they didn't come together when times got tough.

Apparently, Ruby felt the same as she eventually got out of her grip and attempted to tackle Yang to the ground, a big grin on her face. _Attempt_ being the right word as Yang barely felt her adorably tiny sister trying to topple her.

"Awww… it's so cute when you try and be strong" she grinned at the furious pout her sister sent her way when she realised she was fighting a losing battle.

"Oh yeah! Well I wonder what'll happen when I mess with your stupid hair stuff!" she yelled, making a break for the bathroom, Yang's eyes widening in terror at the threat to about a hundred Lien's worth of Shampoo and conditioner. This lead to her tackling her sister to the ground in a panic, the two of them getting into a wrestling match with Yang using her strength and size while Ruby used her speed and smaller frame to get free of any lock she attempted on her.

"Ahem" came a voice from the bed beneath her own, the two of them looking up to see a faintly amused looking Blake staring at them both, though her eyes averted when Yang looked at her, a faint blush on her face and that same confused look she seemed to keep getting lately... looking down, Yang realised just what the heck she was looking at... and promptly turned beat red and covered herself up. turned out that her and Rube's little wrestling match had caused 'the girls' to be a little more on show than she would prefer... gods damn this stupid blush, and stupid Blake for making her do so!

"… I know you two are having fun, but we need to get ready… Yang takes forever, remember" she said, trying to put in that sarcasm of hers that had been making her feel these... things for a little while now, but Yang could tell that something was bothering her partner... _Is it me? Have I upset her or... oh gods has she realised how I've been acting!? No, no... that... that's not possible, right?_

But she couldn't dwell on that right now, instead she grew a big grin and said "What can I say? A body _this_ good, takes time and effort to get the maximum effect from it" she cackled as she made to go get changed, trying to not show how she noticed Blake purposefully turn away and frowning as she opened up a book.

Yang tried to not feel offended, she really did, but... what if Blake really _had_ realised that Yang had been feeling... certain things about her partner lately, and she was upset with her for it? The thought scared her... with things seeming to _finally_ be getting back on track, if that was the case and things between them became awkward or they suddenly stopped wanting to be around each other, could it all go back to how it was before? Poor Weiss and Jaune had been through so much because of them dealing with, well, what she thought she too might be going through... and if her partner started to act cold and distant to her because of it? Gods, it might just be the _end_ of their team.

She _refused_ to let that happen and so, not sure of what the heck else to do, she made a decision that she knew may fix what was going on between them... or make it so much worse.

* * *

Blake tried to just sit there and read her book, she _tried_ to focus on the love developing between Kimiko and Sakura, one a brash idiot who literally had to have her life saved by her calm and collected partner time and time again... only to have the image of her _own_ partner appear in her head. Slamming down her book in an odd display of emotion for the monochrome girl, Blake raked her hands through her hair with a frustrated sigh. Why was this happening? Ever since Yang had gotten so close to her that night and had then acted so... _shy?_ That was probably the best word for it, she'd found herself looking at her partner more and more... and not in ways she was happy about.

 _Urgh! Why is this even happening!? I don't even like girls!_ she had never felt attraction to a woman before, and it wasn't like she hadn't had the option to see if she did either! With Ilia, it had been clear that her Chameleon Faunus friend had been... romantically attracted to her, but Blake had never felt anything like that towards her in the slightest... neither had she been brave enough to tell her as such.

But... maybe she could talk to Yang and... see if she felt anything? She knew what romantic feelings _felt_ like, after all, she'd once had them for Ada-...

Blake shook at the reality of her thoughts, the lie she was _still_ living yet had sworn she would find someone to trust enough to share her secret with here. She had been lying to her schoolmates, her friends and her _partner_ about her race this entire time and yet she thought it was okay to be thinking stupid things like _this!?_ It was something that always came up whenever her recent _thoughts_ about her partner surfaced. How she was a liar and coward who hid her past from people that had let themselves become so weak and vulnerable around her, yet refused to do the same. Weiss had literally cried her heart out to them and, while Blake knew she had only trusted Ruby with the intimate details, had been alright with letting Blake stay in the room and comfort her when she needed it... Why couldn't she do that? No. She knew why, it was because she was afraid. Afraid of their anger, fear and them condemning her before she could even speak to them, to explain she was trying to live a life where she really was fighting for the betterment of both Faunus and Humans! She even called a _Schnee,_ friend!... But the fear still remained... and she was made even more angry by the fact she feared Yang's reaction the most. She growled once more in annoyance, near missing the bathroom door opening to show her... weirdly tense partner. She immediately felt a little nervous at her expression, doubly so with Ruby having gone to make sure the Infirmary was open with her Semblance, leaving the two of them alone together in the room.

Then, quicker than she thought possible, Yang was in front of her with a serious expression on her face.

"Blake... we uh... we need to talk..." Alarm bells rang in her head, and immediately, Blake felt her fight or flight reflexes kick in... and she was ashamed to admit which one won.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Yang" she replied coolly, wincing at the mild hurt that crossed Yang's face and hating herself for lying to her, but she knew if she tried to talk about this then she might end up spilling all her secrets... which would put her on the executioners block, preparing for the hate her partner would surely feel.

"Blake... C'mon, you and I both know what's going on and I really think we should talk about this, I... I don't want you to hate me..."

Okay, _that_ she hadn't been expecting, was this not what she thought it was? Had Yang not noticed how she had been acting towards her lately and assumed Blake was hiding something from her? Quick as she could, she looked her friend in the eyes and asked "Yang... why would I hate you? You've done nothing wrong!" she told her, watching Yang's eyes widen as well, an embarrassed flush coming over her face as she made to talk but only moved her lips like a fish. It took a few moments, but Yang finally managed to get her words out.

"B-but... what's with all the annoyed looks you get whenever I smile at you!? I thought... I thought you were angry at me for-... something..."

"No... No, no, no, Yang I'm not mad at you, I promise!" She said, placing a hand on her partners shoulder, and doing her best to ignore the odd flush that went across Yang's cheeks for a moment, she refused to think on it because there was no chance that it could be what her stupid mind might decide it was.

"Then... Then what's wrong, Blake? You're my partner and I can tell somethings bothering you! C'mon, if you can't trust me, the pun queen with a heart of gold, then who else can you trust?" She joked, more alive and happy now, clearly whatever had been weighing her down had been lost when Blake had made it clear she wasn't mad at her... but that still left Blake herself trying her best to decide how best to respond to her...

How would she react if she told her the truth? She'd been playing worst case scenarios through her head all night and day this past week of what would happen if she told Yang the truth and she was obviously still terrified of what her reaction would be.

But now? As she looked into her friends eyes that were full of care and worry for her?

"Yang... I... I'm scared of what you'll think... of what you'll say if I tell you... You may think it's stupid, but I'm scared you'll hate me just like you thought I'd hate you for some reason" She quickly carried on when Yang looked ready to question why she'd think that. "But... I... I promise I'll tell you at some point, you're my friend it's just... this is something I need to think through"

She was done hiding secrets from her friend... she knew if Yang ever needed to talk to someone, have someone to confide in a secret... she would come to her.

She had been open about her feelings towards Faunus when asked, and had simply stated that 'they're people just like us, trying to make a life for themselves! Plus, have you _seen_ some of the cool animal parts they have? I saw a dude with _wings_ the other day! What I wouldn't give to be able to fly!' How could she ever think her friend would ever judge her? More than likely she'd reprimand her for being stupid and getting into the wrong crowds... and make _awful_ cat puns... so many cat puns...

She couldn't tell her right now, but she _would._ Yang would be okay with that, she could already tell seeing as Yang's smile could have lit up a room and Blake found herself smiling alongside her. She would put aside those stupid, weird thoughts she'd been having, because the last thing her partner needed was for her to think Blake was angry with her... besides, it wasn't as if Yang would ever be attracted to her, she had only ever shown interest in men as far as she had seen.

"By the way, seeing as I'm being honest here, why don't you tell me what's wrong? You seemed to think I was angry at you and you've been acting... different lately"

Yang flushed beet red, stuttering for a second, before she took a deep breath and gave her a look that made Blake remind herself she was done with her moronic and pointless thoughts.

"R-Right... Blake... I uh... I-"

"They're open!" Ruby shouted, making both Blake and Yang jump in fright as Ruby looked at them in puzzlement. "Uh... Is everything okay?" She asked, not realising the tender moment between them had been ruined because of her sudden appearance.

"YEP!" Yang shouted, Blake noticing with a slightly worried expression how Yang's eyes turned red for the briefest of moments before her grin outshone it and she turned to her sister. "Right! Let's get going then!" she shouted, making her way out the door and Blake quickly followed, not noticing the slightly squinted eyes of her team Leader.

* * *

It was as they reached the entrance to the hallway where they could see the door to the infirmary, that Yang put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, causing her to turn around with a worried expression on her face. She wanted to see Weiss and Jaune as soon as possible, so why was she stopping them when they were so close?

"Before we go in there… I think it's best that we talk about a little issue I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one to notice; The way Weiss was acting towards Jaune… Please tell me I'm wrong?"

 _Oh… that's why…_ Ruby thought solemnly, her won thoughts going to how her partner had been acting yesterday. She never really understood all that icky relationship stuff, but she'd seen the way some girls and boys would look at each other at times and she could guess what they were thinking… Weiss had been giving a very similar look to Jaune and that scared her a little. Excited as heck because that would mean the fighting was clearly going to stop and maybe he and Weiss really could become great friends, possibly more! But… despite all her encouragement, Ruby was a little nervous about what would happen if Weiss asked him out… what would actually happen if she did? she'd told them that he'd told her he still loved her, which she was proud to admit she'd been right about, but what if Weiss was only being this way because of what had been going on lately with her? What if… once things had calmed down, she didn't like Jaune anymore? The thought scared her a little.

"Nope… I saw it too… I wanna believe she really does like him, but…"

"You're afraid she's seeing him through rose tinted glasses?" Blake suddenly looked up, surprise on her face as if she hadn't realised that she'd said it.

"Umm… what's that mean?" she asked, honestly not too sure what Blake was going on about.

"That… she's thinking back on all the things he's done, things that used to annoy her, but instead she now sees them as funny and romantic which builds an attraction she thinks is genuine but is actually cognitive bias towards him, probably brought on by his saving of her… I mean… she might actually like him… the way she was acting, and from what you told me she said and did when you two found him in town, she sounded almost like she was jealous. Like she'd started to grow feelings for him, then all of _this_ happened and those feelings turned into anger and sadness, refusing to admit to even herself that what she was feeling what actually be romantic feelings for him. _But…_ This is Weiss we're talking about here. I honestly doubt that's the case"

Though she didn't really understand everything Blake was saying, she did get the gist of it, so did Yang if the sigh that escaped her lips was anything to go off of.

"If she's showing signs she likes him, she has the right to find out if she really does or not" Yang said, an odd... weirdness in her voice, she was never the best at fancy describing words so 'weirdness' was the best she had. "If they don't work out, oh well, at least they gave it a shot and hopefully they stay as just friends. If they _do,_ great! Weiss and Jaune get together and live happy, sappy lives together and have a bunch of weirdly pale, lanky kids who are either bossy as hell or complete pushovers. The point is that they should _try_ , that's what matters to most people" Yang was acting... really nervous, that weirdness was back and it was like it had just gotten bigger, an odd tension Ruby chose to not say anything about... but she could see the same, kinda weird expression on Blake's face... people were weird.

"Heh… well, I guess the best thing to do would be to ask her then? Just confront the issue?" she asked, only to jump when her sister and Teammate shouted in unison.

" _NO!"_ they looked at each other with mild confusion playing across their faces, before they faced her again with worried expressions.

"No… Ya know how Weiss is, Rubes. If we try and confront her about it, she'll just shut down and close up again. or she'll get angry and deny it completely. Better to let her figure it out on her own and help her if she asks for it, right?"

"She has a point… Trying to force the issue won't help at all"

With a small pout forming on her face, Ruby dropped her head and nodded in agreement. She did _not_ want to agree with them on this, but she knew they had more experience at this kinda thing than her. And she knew her partner. Weiss was a slow person to open up and it probably would end badly to try and make her talk.

"Heh, dang it. Okay" she grumbled, moving forward to get to the doors and make her way to Weiss and Jaune's room. Upon getting to the room in question, they paused again, hearing Weiss's voice coming from inside.

" _I will have to take you to go buy a new set of armour when you wake up, the last thing I need is to keep worrying about you, that tin foil you called armour looked like you brought it from a corner store… maybe something in silver and blue? N-Not that it matters, I imagine you have your own colours you might prefer"_

Ruby turned to her friends with a pleading expression, which was met by two shaking heads and a patting on the shoulder by Yang.

"Heh… You guys owe me for this" was all she said as she raised her hand and knocked on the door, hearing Weiss pause in her words, before softly calling out to them, no doubt having guessed it was them.

She smiled happily at the sight of her friend, glad to see a little light had returned to her eyes, more than before at the very least.

"Hello Ruby, how are you?" she said, the fact she didn't let go of Jaune's hand still, was more than a little annoying for Ruby. All she wanted was to help! What was so wrong with that?

"I'm fine, little tired but fine, had to wait for Miss Morning Person to get her lazy butt out of bed before we could come down" she smiled, watching the corners of Weiss's mouth twitch upwards, her giggle at the sight of it was cut short as Yang karate chopped her head from behind.

"Hardy, har har sis" Yang said, rolling her eyes as she walked up to Weiss, that grin of hers turning a little softer as she laid her hand a top her shoulder. "How're you doing, Weiss? Seriously"

Ruby felt her eyebrow twitch at the blatant hypocrisy of her question.

 _Oooooh, no. I can't ask questions, but you can, can't you? oh, that's fair isn't it!?_

"I'm… doing better actually, I had a descent nights sleep for once…" She seriously doubted anyone in the room missed how Weiss' eyes shifted to Jaune as she spoke the words. "Though don't tell the dolt when he wakes up or he'll get all full of himself"

"Yeeeaahhh, anyway, great to hear Snow Cone" Yang grinned, only for a wadded up piece of tissue to smack her straight in the forehead. "GACK!"

"My name is _Weiss_ you oaf!" she growled, her angry expression pointed out by the way her pointer finger aimed straight a- wait.

"You… You got angry!" Ruby yelled, a massive smile erupting on her face as she jumped in front of her, bouncing happily as she did.

Weiss though, she lost her frown and a downcast expression appeared on her face. "Oh… I'm so-eck!"

She was cut off when Ruby wrapped her up in a hug, giggling excitedly in enjoyment. Weiss was back! At least a little bit, but she was acting more like herself again!

"YAY! It's good to have the angry Weiss back! Well, good angry Weiss anyway!" she grinned. squeezing Weiss even harder in her special 'super-dooper bestie hug'. Pulling away from her friend, Ruby gently smacked her hand against her friends' shoulder with such a big smile on her face. "Good to have ya back, bestie" she smiled, watching Weiss' eyes widening as she realised just why she was so happy.

"Th-that's… I'm… oh, shut up" she growled, apparently deciding that looking at them wasn't as important as watching Jaune's heartrate monitor.

"How's he been?" Blake was the next to talk, the barest hint of worry in her voice. That was… odd, why the heck was she acting all worried about Jaune? Not that it wasn't a good thing, Blake being a good friend and all but… well, Blake hadn't actually ever _talked_ to Jaune, not properly anyway. _Meh, Blake is probably just trying to be a good person_.

"Oh, well, he's actually been showing signs of a little bit of improvement; his breathing is far more even, heart rate is down and his… _wounds_ … are healing rather well, faster than Aura really should be able to. Well, I guess that's just more proof that this must be his semblance at work" Weiss said with a little but of chipper in her voice.

"Sweet, say Weiss-cream-" this time, Yang dodged the thrown tissue with ease. "-Wanna come grab some breakfast with me?"

Ruby watched with bated breath as Weiss tensed, her entire body buzzing as she waited for her to give her answer.

 _Please, please, please!_

Weiss let out a deep sigh, turning to them with a slightly sad smile on her face.

"Sorry, I need to stay here… I need to be here when he wakes up"

"Aw, c'mon! It'll be like, what, five minutes? Doubt V-B is gonna wake in that time!" Yang grinned, slapping a hand down onto her friends' shoulder. "Besides, ya looking even skinnier than usual, can't have Jaune waking up to see you as a skeleton, can we?"

 _Ooo… that's evil, Yang… but evil is what we need right now!_

"Th-that! I-I mean…" She watched as a hint of red entered Weiss's face and a small scowl crossed her lips. Ruby could admit that, even with her kinda poop knowledge of romance, knew that Yang had hit a sore spot. If Weiss did like Jaune-had _convinced_ herself she likes Jaune, then saying something like that would be her best chance at convincing her to leave with Yang. "Urgh! Fine!" she growled, standing up with a huff and moving to turn around, only to stop.

Ruby watched as she turned her head, following Weiss's gaze down, spotting what was halting her.

Her hand was still locked onto his, hers was gripping gently while his own was limp and only held there by her own.

* * *

 ** _Will you really leave him? will you really just abandon him for food? Oh… you selfish girl… you evil, selfish girl…_**

"Weiss?"

She turned to look at her friend, those dark thoughts she'd been so glad to see gone, were silenced after once again rising by the words of Yang. She smiled sweetly at her, the look so rare to see yet she couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I'm sorry… but… I can't leave him. You know I can't, Yang, I owe h-"

"You owe him?" Yang said, that caring smile on her face replaced by a small scowl, accentuated by the flickering of red in her eyes. "Well guess what, Princess? Sitting there holding his hand and waiting for him to wake up while you starve yourself isn't gonna pay him back, it isn't gonna stop you owing him. _Shockingly_ enough he will actually just get angry at you. he'll ask why you did something so stupid and will probably order your butt to go get some food and water. So, what do you think is the smarter decision? Being dumb and continue what you're doing, which will result in him getting annoyed at you. Or, coming with me, getting some grub in you and coming back _not_ looking like a tired skeleton? Hell, you can get him some nuggets! You know how obsessed he is with them, the smell might just wake him up"

She wanted to ignore her, to tell her to mind her own business and let her do what she wanted… but she had to admit the brute did make some good points… good enough that she found herself placing his hand back onto his chest and turned to Yang, doing her best to scowl right back at her, though the way Yang smiled once more told her she'd failed miserably.

 _Urgh… these boobs are my teammates…_ her internal complaints didn't match the small smile on her face as she walked up to Yang.

"Just five minutes, alright?"

"Yep, now c'mon! I heard they're serving Blueberry frozen yogurt~" She teased in a sing-song voice, Weiss was about to thank her for the information, when _it_ happened.

 _~growl~_

She swore she could have lit a fire with how hot her face went at the sound. Curse her body for making such an embarrassing noise! Looking at the shocked faces of her teammates, which quickly turned to them trying to stifle laughter at the sound, she narrowed her eyes and stuck a finger in their direction. "Not. A. Word." She said with as much fury she could muster in the face of sheer embarrassment.

* * *

Ruby watched with a smile on her face as her partner and sister left, leaving her alone with Jaune and… Blake.

It was with this knowledge that she turned to her teammate, a small frown playing across her features that Blake easily noticed. The way her eyes widened, and her fingers held the book in her hands a little tighter was obvious to see.

"So, Blake" she watched with a curious eye as Blake tensed up ever so slightly, she didn't really want to do this when things were actually beginning to look up. Unfortunately, she knew that things would only get worse again. she wouldn't have that. "What's going on with you and Yang?"

* * *

Yang strolled down the halls in silence with Weiss, she'd have liked to have said it was a comfortable silence, she'd have liked to say the smile on her face was genuine… the problem was though, was the small thought that kept niggling in the back of her mind, a thought that had been plaguing her since she'd seen Weiss sat in that chair in the infirmary.

"So… Weiss?" she asked, the Heiress stopping to look at her with a curious look on her face. "How… How are we? Like, we never really got the chance to actually, y'know' _talk_ since all this crap happened… and it's been kinda bothering me"

She pulled one right out of Ruby's book and awkwardly ducked her head and held her hands behind her back. She had been anxious to see what Weiss would say to her, she had been more than pleasant, nice even! But she also knew that Weiss was really good at hiding her true feelings and would prefer to hold them in till she nearly destroyed herself over just admitting them if she felt she had to. So… what would happen now? Had Weiss changed her mind and decided to just keep pretending she wasn't mad when she still was? She'd have to wait to find out.

"Oh… I suppose you're right" she admitted, looking downcast for a moment before she looked back up at her with a piercing gaze, forcing her to stop the blush that wanted to form on her cheeks. She could admit to seeing what Jaune saw in Weiss, while she wasn't even close to being what she looked for in a girlfriend, too high maintenance and too bossy for her but… gods damn those eyes… plus that ass of hers wasn't too ba- _no! focus on what she has to say, not those other things!_ "Heh… well, I think we can both agree that we made mistakes. I was taking out my fury on those that didn't deserve it and caused problems between you and Ruby, while you decided locking Jaune and I in a room together was a good way to solve our problems. So… I proclaim an offer to you" she really wanted to laugh at the fancy way she spoke, afterall she could be considered a country girl seeing as she grew up in a cabin in the woods, but she knew the situation demanded she be at least a little serious.

"Okay, whatever you say Weiss, you were always better at this sorta stuff anyway" she smiled, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder and seeing Weiss visibly relax under it.

"Well, I say that we move on. I'm not saying that we forget what happened, better to learn from it, yet… I want us to be friends again Yang… much as I am loath to admit it, I miss your company and those… _puns_ of yours aren't so terrible, so I am willing to stand them"

"That was really difficult to say, wasn't it?" Yang said with a beaming smile on her face, she didn't think she could have put it any better herself, well. She would have used less words and might have slipped a joke in there somewhere, but… well she couldn't deny the warmth that settled in her chest as she opened up her arms to her friend, inviting her into a hug that would be of the gentle variety, this wasn't the time for bear hugs after all. That would come later.

Weiss, after a moments' hesitation, walked into the hug and wrapped her arms around her. Her small size let Yang place her head on top of Weiss' enjoying the smallness of her teammate.

"I did miss having little miss bossy around" she laughed, expecting to receive a smack on the arm from Weiss, only to feel the girl tense under her grip, feeling her shift her head to the side and could actually feel Weiss' heartbeat increase. "Weiss?"

She was silent for a little while, the only sound was their breathing.

"Yang?" she asked, the nervousness in her voice odd to her, it made her worried for what she was going to say next, letting out a small 'hmm?' to let her know she'd heard her. "Can… can I ask you something? Something that's been bothering me for a little while"

"Sure Weiss, what's up?"

"I… I have come to find myself at an impasse at the moment. I have grown what I believe might be… _feelings_ towards someone who I have no right to feel the way I think I do about them"

Yang felt herself stiffen at her words… she-gods she hadn't expected this to happen any time soon, maybe when he woke up, more than likely when she felt she had no choice but _definitely_ not like this… not that she was going to complain or anything.

"So, you think you like Jaune, huh?"

"Wh-what?" she asked, looking completely shocked at her words as she raised her head to look at her, Yang chose to simply hold her gaze and quirk an eyebrow at her, happy to see Weiss let out a small huff of air and bow her head. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Weiss, you were looking at him like Ruby looks at cookies" she couldn't contain her laughter at the embarrassed squawk Weiss let out as she thrust herself out of Yang's arms. She was flush red and Yang couldn't help but cackle even louder than before when she started spouting out denials.

"I-It is not like that! I… I just-I URGH!" she growled, stomping her foot loudly on the floor and making to walk away, only stopped by Yang snapping out her arm and pulling her back towards her.

"Sorry, sorry, my bad Weiss, shouldn't be laughing at you in a situation like this" Weiss grumbled angrily at her, but she didn't try to leave again so that was a plus. "So… gonna assume this has something to do with how things have been between you two lately? Not… exactly gonna deny you two don't have the best track record" she said this as they began to walk once more, she could tell Weiss would start to get antsy if they took too long.

"… Yes… Yang, what do I do? I _want_ to believe that I truly have grown feelings that are somewhat _romantic_ in nature for him... But… are they really what I think they are? Am I really becoming romantically interested in him, or is this just some form of gratitude that I am convincing myself _is_ affection? Even if I do… Even if I truly have romantic feelings for him, do I even have the right? We have done nothing but argue and I have always treated him with such distaste and anger and I-urgh! I hate feeling this way!" she shouted angrily, slamming her face into her hands and groaning in annoyance.

She let out a puff of air as she thought about what to say next, it wasn't that she didn't know what to say, it was that she wasn't sure how to word it. _Meh, better to just bite to bullet and go for it._

"Heh, tell me something Weiss. What exactly do you know about Jaune?" the question caught Weiss off guard, her eyes scrunching in confusion and her head tilting like a confused puppy. _Don't take a picture. Don't take a picture!_

"What do you mean, Yang?"

"Well… what do you know about the guy? What's his favourite movie?"

"Oh! He once mentioned a new film that's come out with Spruce Willis in it, I imagine that would be his favourite movie" she said with a small smile on her face that showed how proud she was of herself.

"Ooookay, too easy seeing as he kinda asked you out to see that movie, which you uh… kinda gave him the cold shoulder on, heheh" she grimaced as Weiss grew a bit crestfallen. "Okay! What's he like to do in his downtime?"

"I am not quite certain"

"What's his family like?"

"... I have never asked"

"His favourite food- _outside_ of nuggets" she said as Weiss' face lit up again, seeing it turn into a frown instead.

"I... do not know"

"Okay, what _do_ you know about him?"

"Well, I know he is not what I first thought of him as. He is a good, kind young man who puts others before himself, he is _obscenely_ tall, he is innocent and a bit of a dolt but does everything he does with good intentions at heart. He tries his best to succeed despite clearly lacking behind the other students in combat ab-… actually that is wrong, I imagine he could give that brute Winchester a run for his money these days. He is… just a good person who, despite me not deserving it, put his own life on the line to save me, he didn't even think about it. I've met so many people in my life that only do things that benefit them in some way, yet he is the antithesis of this. He does what he does to help others, I won't claim he is a selfless human being, but who is? I just… that may seem like a lot but… it really isn't… is it?" she said, the light that had formed in her eyes had dimmed and she seemed to creep in on herself slightly. _Damn... what the hell did you do to her, Jaune?_

"Hey, there's no need to beat yourself up about it" Yang said, reaching the doors to the cafeteria where they could hear the staff busily getting ready for students, pausing once they got there. "Look, want my opinion on what's going on?" she said in the most caring voice she could muster, she imagined Weiss might not like what she was going to say.

"Yes, please… I need someone to help me understand what's going on in my head at the moment"

"Okay… what I think is happening here isn't you falling for Jaune, this sounds more like a little crush than anything else"

Something inside Weiss seemed to grow weak at her words, the girls eyes growing a bit dull and anything resembling happiness went straight out the window. "Oh… so you're saying that… that I can't return his feelings?" _You mean I have to hurt him again?_ she didn't say it, but Yang knew that was what she meant, it was obvious to her, which was why she quickly stomped on that feeling before it could grow.

"No. What that means is you are _thinking_ about going out with Jaune, that you aren't exactly against the idea of it, but you aren't really sure. That's because you don't know him all that well. To actually fall for someone, means they can make you laugh without trying, brighten up your day with a smile, means you can go to them when you need comfort and allow yourself to be weak around them. It means they make your heart beat faster with a touch. It means… that before you can know if you _have_ fallen for them… you need to know you can be friends… because that's really all a boyfriend or girlfriend is at the end of the day, someone you let close, except they are allowed even closer because everything about them makes you happy. You know their quirks, their faults, stuff that makes you smile and stuff that sometimes makes you wanna beat their head into the ground. And you accept that and still want to be in a relationship with them. They're more than friends and yet, exactly the same… You never bothered to pay attention to him 'cause you were convinced he was a bad guy who didn't really care about your happiness. Jaune though, he found a lot of things he likes about you because he watched and paid attention to things you do around others and little things about you that make you, you. Not in the creepy way before you get worried, I mean like I sometimes see him glance over at you after you say or do something and he gets this little smile, hard to spot if you aren't looking for it but he only gets it when it's you he's looking at. I hear him sometimes admit to Ruby why he likes you so much and _wow…_ he has definitely fallen for you" _aaand there's those rosy cheeks I was after_ "Listen Weiss, the best thing you can do at the end of the day is to just try and be his friend first. Get close to him and find out all you can about him, if you still think about him the same way, if you still want to try and have a relationship with him, then I know that means you _have_ fallen for him. If not, hey, you get a good friend out of it, seeing as if you didn't wanna try and be his friend after all this mess I _might_ have to smack ya upside the head"

"Point is, he could be the greatest guy in the world, but if you don't like to just hang out with him as a friend… well there's not much hope for an actual relationship… understand?" the words were heartfelt and true, even if they brought her a lot of pain to speak… she had to admit to herself what she was feeling... that she was feeling the same way Weiss was describing towards someone she knew would never like her back.

 _Heh… no point in telling her what it's like to fall for someone who would definitely never feel the same... Jaune's head over heels for her._

"Yes… yes I think I do… if I become his friend first, get to know the boy behind the armour… and still feel the same way or feel even more intensely, then I'll know that I want to be in a relationship with him" she said, her smile wasn't as big as before but it seemed… happier? No. Content. Yeah… that was it.

The thing was, she had to ask one very important question to Weiss... She just hoped she understood where she was coming from.

"I do gotta ask, Weiss, and please understand that _I'm_ only trying to understand this better... why do you suddenly feel this way about Jaune? Hell, I get wanting to make up and be friends with the guy since he _did_ save your life... but... why...?"

"Why do I feel I may have, as you put it, 'a crush' on him?" Weiss finished for her, a far away look in her eyes as if she wasn't walking down a hallway with her right now... that she was somewhere else, and Yang had a fairly good idea of where that place was. She and the rest of the team knew that Weiss seemed to have been feeling _something_ for Jaune since he'd spoken to her under that tree, but she had to know where Weiss thought it may have started. "I first became aware of these _feelings_ during our fight in Forever Fall... the way he acted, no hidden intentions, no lies or hidden truths... just a young man who wanted to make sure we made it out of there. He himself said that he didn't understand why, but he wanted to help me, he wanted to try and take away my pain even when I was piling more and more onto him... The orders he gave, the way he wouldn't let me pretend I was alright when I took a hit and let myself become distracted... he _shouted_ at me, Yang. Practically bellowed at me to get my head in the game and focus, already coming up with multiple plans to beat our opponents and the funny thing? I knew there was no malice behind it, no hatred for me or what I'd done to him. Just this _worry_ for me, needing me to focus so he knew I would be safe to take his eyes off of... I will admit it brought a warmth to my heart to see him act in such a way"

Weiss paused, hand shaking slightly and Yang took it to hold still, knowing just where her mind had gone next. "Then he was hurt... as he lay there, more than likely thinking he was dying, his only thoughts? They were the realisation that he loved me... That was the last thing Jaune could think of in what he thought were his final moments, the love he has for me... It was then that I realised that... there never was any hidden agenda, no plans to use me or my money for anything. He cared about _me,_ the girl who has had no one ever feel about me as such, only having dealt with those who would use me in the way I thought Jaune would. There was nothing he wished to gain other than my affections... I-I think that was the moment that I became aware of how I was acting towards him... and others he was close to" Yang could tell she meant that Velvet girl Jaune seemed to like to hang out with these days. "I am a terrible person... I treated him so horribly all because I turned these... _feelings_ I had growing inside me into this unfounded and horrific hatred of him, I made his life so miserable, I-"

"Hey... shh… It's okay" Yang whispered, having pulled Weiss into a hug as she could tell she was about to have another break down, feeling the girls chest heave as she attempted to get her breathing under control. "You made a mistake, Weiss, but you clearly understand that you messed up, right?"

"Y-yes... but, how can I face him after all I di-"

"Nope"

"Wh-what?" She stuttered on confusion, looking up at her with a small frown.

"I said, _Nope!_ Kinda a family saying for me and Rubes, it's really an all use sorta thing and I'm using it to shut down those dumb thoughts of yours"

"They are _not_ dumb! Yang, I hurt him! He nearly _died_ because of me! What was I even thinking!? Wanting to become his friend, when I should stay away for his safe-"

 **"Nope!"** She said with more force this time, grinning when Weiss scowled at her. "I'mma keep saying that until you stop being dumb. Do you _really_ think Jaune's gonna let you get away from him that easy? The last thing he'll want is for you to be upset Weiss and we _both_ know that avoiding him is gonna make you upset, which will make him upset as well!" Weiss seemed to be about to argue with her... only for her mouth to click shut and her eyes to close with a sigh.

 _Hah! Got you now Weiss, used that logic you love so much on_ you!

"I... I suppose you are right, Yang" she muttered, frown turning up a little. "But how will I ever be able to make up for all I did to him?"

"Simple! You start with saying 'I'm sorry'"

"It can't be that simple!" She said, disbelief written all over her face, but Yang knew how to answer just such a question.

"But it is... think about it, Weiss... someone like you, who's usually so proud and headstrong, giving an honest and heartfelt apology? It won't make things better, you both screwed up. **_A LOT._** But, it will go a long way to making it there... understand?"

Weiss was silent for a time, eyes darting in every direction as she chewed her lip and furrowed her brow in thought, before she sighed, smiling and looking Yang in the eye.

"When did you get so wise, Yang?" She asked, a true and honest smile on her face.. it was almost a shame she said what she did next... _almost._

"Hey, you're a little _Weiss_ yourself" she grinned, not losing it even when an elbow hit her ribs.

"I changed my mind, I hate those puns and would rather live the rest of my days without them"

Yang laughed, pushing open the doors and turning her head to find Weiss smiling once more, though she quickly hid it behind a scowl when Yang caught her eye.

"C'mon princess, let's go get you some Blueberry frozen yogurt!"

 _~growl~_

"Pfft, hahahah!"

"Yang Xiao Long, you stop laughing this instant!"

* * *

She carried the tray in her hands, containing on it her own breakfast of a bowl of fruit, a cup of coffee, a piece of toast, a small bowl of… Blueberry frozen yogurt… and a plate of nuggets, as silly as what Yang had said might sound, she was willing to try anything if it meant him possibly waking up sooner.

As they entered the hall to the infirmary, though, she froze at the sight that greeted her.

Coming out of Jaune's room with a smile on her face... was Pyrrha. That smile quickly died as she turned to her... replaced by something she never expected to see on the Mistral Champions face...

Rage.

 _ **"You."**_

 **Wish Weiss some luck folks! She's gonna need it, some development for this chapter on both Weiss and Yang's part and Ruby deciding to go full 'you in trouble mode!' with Blake... good luck kitty-cat.**


	21. Time to say hello

**JourneysEnd1**

… **I'M NOT CRYING! YOU ARE!**

 **Elderfire1**

 **Ermm…**

 **JourneysEnd1**

 **SHUT UP!**

 **Here we go again, folks. Hope you enjoy the story**

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 19**

 **Time to say hello…**

Blake looked at her with a shocked expression, the fact her eyes darted to the door a moment later _seriously_ annoyed her, which was why she used her semblance to place herself in front of that door with as best a frown as she could muster on her face.

"I'm not gonna let you go until you tell me what's going on Blake… This team is _just_ starting to become friends again and I'll be darned if I'm gonna let you and Yang carry on doing what you're doing" she said with a defiant tone in her voice, she didn't care if she was small, weak and, annoyingly, hard to take serious with the way she looked and talked but Remnant would blow up before she moved without an answer… and she was a little worried she could already guess what was going on.

"Ruby, I… you wouldn't understand…" she said, turning her head to the side with a small frown on her face. Though it didn't match the one that Ruby grew. She didn't like just throwing caution to the wind and saying what she thought to people… she wasn't the biggest fan of conflict with people she considered friends… but on the other side, Yang was her big sister and she was hurting. That was not something she would let slide. "Besides, Yang talked to me, I promised her that we'd sort talk things through when things quieted down"

"Really? Huh..." She said with wide eyes and cocked to the side head, shocked to hear but honestly happy for it! "So Yang admitted she likes you? Wow, gotta admit, seeing her get all mushy and blushy first made me think she was sick before I realised what it was. Surprised you didn't realise yourself though, she _was_ kinda ob-" Ruby cut herself short as she saw Blake begin to turn redder than a tomato... _oops..._ "I'm uh... gonna take a guess and say that's _not_ what you two talked about? Heh... heh"

* * *

" _WHAT!?"_ she screeched, wincing as a doctor who'd been walking by the door glared at her through the window. "R-Ruby! You don't know what you're talking about! I… Yang would never have a c-crush on me, you see her! She's always flirting with any guy that catches her eye! She's clearly not into women!" she squeaked, embarrassed that she even did so, add annoyed at the disbelieving look Ruby sent her way.

"Really? Because I haven't seen her flirt with a single guy for a long while, have you?" she inwardly cursed at the logic there... she usually found her leaders ability to answer complicated subjects like this with simplistic ease, endearing... but now all it did was annoy her.

"No..." she muttered, knowing it was near impossible to lie to Ruby in moments like this when her childish and naïve nature seemed to just disappear. "Besides, that's not the point! Why are we even having this conversation here!? Jaune is right there, hurt and unconscious! The last thing he needs is us shouting around him!"

For a moment, Blake thought that Ruby would see sense and drop it, watching as her eyes flitted over to her friend and a worry filled them... that was until her brow furrowed in confusion and she cocked her head at Blake.

"But... you're the only one shouting?"

 _dammit..._

"I... fair enough..." she admitted, lowering her head and trying to think up a way to get Ruby to drop this silly idea of hers so that she could stop those even stupider thoughts entering her head again, but upon coming up empty, decided to take the direct route... it was usually the quickest way to come to a conclusion with Ruby anyway. "It's not like it matters what you think anyway... Yang and I would never..."

"How do you know if you never try? I mean, I don't know if I like boys or girls right now, or even if I will, never really felt that way about anyone, but what's the harm in seeing if there's something there?"

"But I don't like girls, Ruby, so even _if_ Yang was interested in me, which she isn't by the way, there would be no hope for a relationship" There. That would stop Ruby in her tracks, right?

"That's weird, you keep blushing and getting fidgety lately whenever she flexes so there has to be _some_ attraction there, right?" Ruby stared at her intensely and Blake had to remind herself that Ruby was the _younger_ sister of the two.

 _Of course not..._

"There isn't though!" she quickly quieted herself when the doctor returned and looked ready to throw her out if she was loud again, a twitching vein in his forehead. "Ruby… I… I don't know what to say, okay? It's… it's complicated" she mumbled, hoping against hope that Ruby would drop it there... she didn't like what was going through her head, it was wrong, it was impossible! "You just wouldn't understand..."

"Never know unless you tell me, my dad always said I'm great at simplifying stuff that seems really complicated" she smiled, that intense and almost unnerving stare gone completely, replaced by a grinning girl who looked like she wanted to hug the pain away… Heh… she should have guessed she wouldn't drop it. Ruby was herself after all.

"You won't give up… will you?"

"Nope!" she beamed, annoyingly proud with herself… she couldn't tell her the truth… She could tell Yang, she could tell her the truth, but the others? No... she thought the fear was gone, but with them it was still there... and she hated herself for it. Logically, she knew that Ruby was a good person, a kind and simple soul that didn't have a hateful bone in her body... but emotionally? Blake had trusted someone with her darkest secrets before... and it had only given way to pain and suffering... they too had seemed like someone that would never hurt her, never make her scared to be around them... but then he had started killing. She was scared to trust like that again, scared to find out someone she thought she could trust was someone she never should have.

So why was she not afraid to tell Yang? It... it didn't make sense...

"Look Ruby... like I said, even _if_ I was attracted to Yang, and she was to me, it just wouldn't work out... it never would..."

"Why Blake? Please... we're friends aren't we?"

Friends... yes... until she realised what she was, _who_ she was? after that, she was afraid that would all change... especially with Weiss.

"Ruby... You would hate me if I told you... I _can't_ tell you, I'm sorry..."

"Blake-" Ruby began, a worried expression taking over her face, though she quickly snapped her head to the door when a knocking was heard, seeing a rather sombre looking Pyrrha who smiled at them weakly before she hurriedly made her over to Jaune's bed.

* * *

Ruby almost instinctively moved out of the way of the tortured looking Pyrrha. Standing up while she took her place in the chair next to Jaune, gingerly grabbing his hand and pulling it close to her. She brought it to her lips and kissed the back of it, bringing a heavy blush to Ruby's cheeks as she looked away in embarrassment at the scene.

* * *

Pyrrha smiled down at him… that same goofy hair style that he swore was meant to 'look' like bed head. That same nose with a little bump that must have been a bruise at some point, but now was barely noticeable. His chest, though scarred by battle and wrapped in bandages, still brought the tiniest little smile to her as she watched it rise and fall… he was… he…

"You're alive" she whispered, her head falling forward gently as she placed it atop his shoulder, letting out tears she'd refused to shed until now. "You're alive… Oh thank the gods you're alive"

She wasn't entirely sure how long she stayed like that, more than likely a while, but a gentle hand found itself placed on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

Looking up, she saw those kind silver eyes that could only belong to Ruby, who smiled sweetly at her in a way that only she could.

"H-hello, Ruby" she stuttered, her throat feeling tight as she spoke.

"Hey, Pyrrha… do… do you want us to go?" she asked, nervousness playing in her voice that made Pyrrha's smile get a little bigger. She would have liked to be able to spend some time alone with Jaune, to speak to him even if he couldn't hear her, to enjoy his company even if she was the only one awake to just… to just _be_ here with him before Ren and Nora arrived, the Berserker making it clear that she was to go ahead to see her partner before them, that they would catch up soon. But… she felt it would be cruel and selfish to ask the girl who had been his first friend here, who had believed in him as long as she had and had never treated him different because he wasn't the best student… no, she couldn't do that to her. Besides, _she_ wasn't here so there was no need for hostility towards either of the two girls in the room with her.

"No… that will be alright, Ruby. You've done nothing wrong after all" the statement seemed to be what Ruby had hoped she'd say, seeing as how she visibly relaxed and let out a little 'yay' when she'd said it.

"So… how've you been holding up?"

The question would have been a hard one to admit to yesterday as she had most certainly _not_ been okay… but now? Being with him and getting to hold his hand? She now had an entirely different answer.

"I am better, I can honestly say that I am doing so much better than I was yesterday" she admitted, raising a hand and gently running it through his hair, surprised to find it wasn't greasy despite the fact it hadn't been washed for two days. "Thank you both, as well… for looking after him and being here when I couldn't"

"Oh, it wasn't u-" came Ruby's words, only to be silenced by the hand of a wide eyed and worried looking Blake, Ruby's own eyes flicking to her as her mind seemed to catch up to her.

"Oh." Was all she said in response, realising just what Ruby was going to say… _who_ she was going to say had been here… She felt something dark begin to writhe within her as that realisation came to her. _She_ had been here. _She_ had probably been sitting right where she was now. _She_ had dared to sit by his side and pretend that it wasn't her fault that he was there in the first place. _She_ had been left alone with the boy who she'd told to **kill** himself…

"Pyrrha?"

The frightened voice of Ruby snapped her out of her dark thoughts, turning to see the chair she was sat upon had a dark glow about it.

With a shake of her head, Pyrrha dispelled her semblance and looked towards the two of them an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry… I guess I'm not as alright as I think I am" she admitted, angry with herself for letting her emotions get so out of control.

"I-it's okay" Ruby said, though Pyrrha knew it wasn't and it was clear Ruby knew it as well.

"Heh… Shall we move onto another subject?" she asked, looking right at a perplexed Blake with a knowing smile. She hadn't really spoken to Blake all that much, maybe a few passing words in the hallway or the occasional smile and nod. But, after the talk she and the rest of her team had, had with Doctor Oobleck the other day, she felt it was only right to give her opinion on another matter she'd overheard when she'd been stood outside the door… she didn't want Blake to end up like she'd been. "I couldn't help but overhear what you two were talking about, sorry for that"

The fact that Blake looked ready to dive out of a window and Ruby grew an embarrassed blush did not help her own, she did feel guilty over listening in on someone else's conversation but, if she could help in any way, she would. It was what she imagined Jaune would do after all.

"O-Oh… Umm… is there any chance you could _not_ tell Yang about what we said? Kiiiinda don't think it would go down all that well" Ruby grimaced, probably imagining what her sister would do to her for, what she would probably see as, dropping the ball.

"Don't worry Ruby, I won't say a word" she promised, glad to see the worried look Ruby held diminish. "Blake, I have an important question to ask you" she addressed the girl before her, who was leaning away from her with a wary expression on her face. Muscles were tensed, heels of her feet raised off the floor and eyes darting to all available exits, she'd seen it all before in the arena. In the opponents that thought it was wise to just run and try and tire her out... it never worked there, and it wouldn't work here either.

"What?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing and a small frown working its' way onto her lips.

"Don't worry, I won't try and convince you either way, it would be wrong of me to try and force you to make a decision. It also goes without saying that any choice someone else makes for you is bound to end badly in something as serious as this… this is your choice at the end of the day. You need to be certain in mind, body and soul that what you're doing is what _you_ want to do"

Her words seemed to do the trick, much as she hated having to use the skills she'd learned to deal with panicking fans, Blake did visibly grow less tense and her foot laid flat on the floor.

"Blake… is it really impossible for you to ever imagine growing feelings for Yang?" the word was apparently like a gunshot as Blake immediately froze, grew red as Pyrrha's hair and began to splutter all sorts of excuses that would have sounded like plain anger at being asked something stupid... but Pyrrha could see it, there was a denial there... one that brought forth a sad smile.

"W-what? Y-you are wrong-I-"

"Blake" Ruby interrupted, a warm, motherly smile on her face as she looked at her teammate with nothing but love and concern. "Please... Please just tell us..."

* * *

Tell them? Tell them what? There was nothing to admit! There was nothing to hide! There was... there was... _heh... Why? Why did this have to happen?_

* * *

"…" Blake didn't reply to her at first, instead lowering her head and wrapping her arms around herself. It was only after it had been long enough for Ruby and Pyrrha to share a worried look, that Blake spoke.

"…No... No it isn't..." she spoke in a defeated tone, like saying it had just shattered her world, and it would have upset Pyrrha to see... if she didn't know that Blake would likely thank them for having her admit to such a thing. Holding in such emotions and pretending they weren't there was not a good thing to do... she herself at least admitted that she had feelings for her partner and leader, if only she had been braver to admit them to him.

"There we go" Pyrrha smiled, turning back to the sleeping face of Jaune, building her courage. "I know it may seem impossible at times, but admitting to the truth, especially in this sort of situation, will always help and I hope you and Ruby talk more about this... but well, to end it here would make me a bit of a hypocrite… wouldn't it?" she finished, taking all the courage she could hold and leaning forward.

She briefly heard the confused voice of Ruby, asking what she was doing, but she couldn't stop now to answer her… if she did, she'd never have the courage to try again.

She closed her eyes as she grew close, feeling his warm breath slowly flow over her cheek as she did.

Her heart beating at a rapid pace, feeling like it was going to explode all the while… yet she would not faulter.

Warmth. That was the first thing she felt, for a moment until she felt her world explode as her mind caught up with her.

She… she'd kissed him…

She had kissed the boy that had captured her heart… it was a shame he couldn't kiss her back, but she could take solace in the fact she'd finally done it…

While her mind was a storm of emotions that made her want to scream with joy and dance till her body gave out, she forced body to simply show off a storming blush and her hand coming to brush against her lips, that smile of hers making her worry she might split her face in two.

"I love you" she whispered, turning around though not able to look either Ruby or Blake in the eye as she made her way to the door. "I-I will take my leave… I think it's best that I go for now, w-would you be kind enough to tell me when you leave so I can come back and spend some more t-time with him?" she enquired, still not able to turn to them, just hoping Ruby had heard her as she left the room, her heart feeling a lot lighter all of a sudden for obvious reasons.

But then she heard it. She heard the sound of clattering crockery on metal and two sets of feet making their way down the hall.

She turned on instinct, her giddy mind already fogged by her joy of what she'd just done not thinking on just _who_ might be coming down the hallway.

She saw her. Standing there with a disgusting smile on her face and a self-satisfied look in her eyes. Holding a tray of food in her hands with… oh.

That all-encompassing rage she'd felt minutes ago, returned in full. Her vision turning red.

" _ **You."**_

She was moving before her mind could catch up with her.

* * *

Weiss hadn't had much time to react, feeling the agony in her jaw, she was lucky she'd managed to do as much as she had.

The moment Pyrrha had flown at her, she'd thrust the tray of food into a shocked Yang's hands and brought her aura up as best she could.

That was all she could do in the seconds it took for her to close the space between them and for her world to explode into stars, even through aura it hurt nearly as badly as when she'd received her scar.

Opening her scrunched-up eyes, she took in the sight of the bloodthirsty looking Pyrrha Nikos standing over her, that usually calm and placid face gone as the snarl that erupted from her lips filled the air around her with hatred and fury.

She imagined she would have been terrified by the sight of this two days ago, the fury of the invincible girl, the Goddess of victory, all bearing down upon her like a rabid beast of war… now though? All she felt was sympathy.

" _Pyrrha!_ " Yang shouted in disbelief, making to drop the tray of food to come to her defence.

"No, Yang" but that wasn't what she needed right now, to start a fight here would only escalate things to a higher level and possibly put Jaune in danger. She could not have that. She would _not_ have that.

"Wh-But she _hit_ you, Weiss!" she retorted, standing before her, placing herself between Weiss and the furious spartan who seemed to finally realise what she'd done. Remorse wasn't what crossed her face, in fact Weiss was quite certain she was slightly proud of what she'd done, it was more akin to shock than anything. Like she hadn't been in control of her body when she'd attacked her, considering the situation it was hard to blame her.

"I am aware, it was _my_ jaw that she hit after all. But this is something that needs to happen, so please step aside" she said in the most even voice she could muster, the pain going ignored as she got up and dusted off her clothes, watching as Yang begrudgingly moved to the side. Though she made it very clear, by placing the tray of food on the ground, that she was willing to fight if things turned ugly. Finally, she faced her foe, the girls rage seemed to have cooled, if only the slightest, as she didn't make the attack her again. Instead she stared at her with venomous green eyes that pulsed with hatred for her.

It was not Weiss who spoke first, she knew that if she tried to, she would likely be attacked again. She had handled the rage of those around her before, her father the prime candidate for that, she knew how this song and dance played out.

"How dare you. _How dare you_. What makes you think you have the _right_ to be here? After what you did to him, do you _honestly_ think for even a moment that you deserve to be anywhere _near_ him!? You treated him like the filth beneath your heels, like he didn't matter at all, constantly belittling him and making him feel terrible for even being near you… Do you have any idea how hurt he looked every time you rejected him? No, you didn't care enough to even _look_ did you? You didn't care to try and look past your expectations of him and see the kind, sweet boy who only wanted to give you his heart! Then this whole mess got started… do you have any idea what you did to him? How cold and lifeless his eyes became after what you did? Just how much you broke him, yet he refused to show it… he just kept burying it deeper and deeper because he couldn't deal with it all…" tears began to form in Pyrrha's eyes as she stared her down, she would not flinch though. To do so would be to invite more kindling to the flame. "Depression. That was he suffered through and is more than likely _still_ dealing with… it was painful to watch, helpless to do anything as he spiralled down into the pits of his own mind. Depression _you_ caused. I heard about what you said to him in Vale the other day. Trying to make yourself look the victim? Don't make me laugh, if you had bothered to look past your pathetic ego then maybe you could have seen what you were doing and stopped this before it all began. Stopped yourself from saying those _disgusting_ words you said to him in the training room. Do you know he apparently considered it!? His mind was so tortured and pained because of you that he saw _that_ as a way to escape it all"

 _ **Listen... listen to her words you pathetic, evil monster... hear all the pain and suffering you caused and scream in torment as everyone finally realises what you are...**_

Weiss ignored the words in her mind, simply choosing to listen to the crying girl before her, nails digging into palms so hard she felt a little blood trickle down her fingers to stop herself from foolishly listening to them.

"Then came Forever Fall. Why? Why did you have to be there!? Why did he have to care so much for you, to be able to sacrifice himself so readily to protect you, even after all you'd done to him? If it wasn't for you, he would not be in that bed while I have to wait in agony for him to wake up! _You_ are the reason he nearly died. Don't ever try and pretend otherwise. Every drop of blood he spilled is on your hands and your hands alone. You are the most _vile, evil_ girl I have ever met Weiss Schnee, and if you think I am going to allow you anywhere near him, you have another thing coming"

She finished her words, having moved forward to where she was looming over the blank faced Weiss, having to visibly restrain herself from attacking her again.

What kind of answer could the give to such a statement? Most people would have broken down into tears or gone into a rage at such words, but she was not most people. She was Weiss Schnee, she already knew what to say.

"You're right" she said plainly, watching as Pyrrha's face scrunched up in confusion. "I am to blame for what happened to Jaune. I am to blame for how far things went because I was too stubborn and proud to think he, someone I thought was just another boy obsessed with my name, could ever come to care for me in a romantic light. I am the reason he was harmed, and it will haunt me until the day I die, believe me when I say that is the truth. I treated him like trash and never took him seriously. He has every right to hate and despise me… yet he doesn't. I doubt you'll believe me, but when I kneeled over what I thought was my dying saviour, all he could do was smile. He didn't care that he had received what was assumed to be a fatal injury, all he cared about was that I was safe, that I was _alive_ " the thunderous melody began once more in earnest as she felt the warmth that he brought to her… someone so kind didn't deserve what had happened to him. "So, I intend to do the same for him. You can hate me all you like, punch me, kick me, break every bone in my body so that I can't move, Pyrrha Nikos. But _nothing_ on this planet will stop me from showing that same care and selflessness that he showed to me. I _will_ be there when he wakes up, because at the end of the day you have no right or way of stopping me and you know it. That boy- no, that _young man_ in there, he put up with all my horrible words and spiteful jabs, the very least I can do is stay by his side until he can choose to either hate me or not, choose whether or not I have the right to be called his friend or be spurned as an enemy. That young man, is the only one who gets to decide whether or not I am allowed to remain in his life, and if he says he doesn't then I will step aside without question"

"That was my original plan, after all, if it wasn't for Velvet Scarlatina paying him a visit and giving me some much-needed advice" she didn't miss the way Pyrrha's eyes widened, she knew the two of the had to be acquaintances at the very least due to them taking time to spar with Jaune together. Now that she thought about it, Velvet was probably the one who'd helped Jaune to improve as much as he had, she'd need to thank her for that at some point if she could. "But… I have the feeling I already know the answer…" _now to find out how she will take my next words… I have to be honest and straight to the point with her. To lie, no matter if it was done to save her some pain, would be to tighten the noose around my neck._

"He said he loved you… _didn't he?"_ the question caught her slightly off guard, watching as fresh tears sprung from Pyrrha's eyes as she stared at her with spite the likes of which she'd never have imagined could appear on one such as Pyrrha, colour draining from her face, before it returned and turned red as blood. In a blur of movement, she was off the ground, suspended by her collar which was gripped by the fists of Pyrrha, tears freely flowing down her face. She saw Yang move to intervene, but a raising of her hand put a stop to that immediately. "Why? I have done nothing but be there for him! I have done nothing but care for him and done anything and _everything_ I could think of the help him and make him happy! But _you?_ You were none of those things! You were always cruel and cold! You wouldn't even be in the same room with him if you had the choice! So why doesn't he even give me a second glance but he… he loves you? Why? Why would he love you but can't see me? Why can't he ever see just how much I… how much I love him?" she slowly let go of her, though it wasn't by choice, Weiss watched as the girl slowly lost all her strength and will and slowly drooped to her knees, the floor below her stained with her tears. "Wh- _hic_ Why?"

Weiss felt pain unending at the sight of the girl she so respected in such agony… she wanted to comfort her as best she could. She wanted to take her into an embrace and try and will her tears away. But she knew to even _attempt_ such a thing would only end one way.

She once more felt sympathy for Pyrrha Nikos... Why sympathy?

Because, for once in her life, she had been defeated. Crushed, broken and utterly annihilated before she could even properly start by someone who never intended to be her opponent... someone who deeply hated herself for her own blossoming feelings.

Sympathy felt like the right emotion to feel at the moment.

Luckily, it would seem, that fate had chosen another to comfort her in her moment of weakness.

Ren appeared from behind the stricken Pyrrha, looking at her in worry as he placed a hand on her shoulder and helped the crying girl to her feet and gently leading her away. He didn't even offer herself or Yang a passing glance, instead that task seemed left to Nora.

The girl in question stared at her for a moment, seemingly taking in everything about her with a gaze so focused and harsh she honestly thought it couldn't be the same girl for a moment.

"Was everything you just said, true?" the question was a simple one, but Weiss knew that any answer Nora perceived as wrong could end up making things so much worse than they already were. It was lucky then, that there was only one answer she could ever give to such a question.

"Yes"

Those teal eyes looked right back at her, narrowing ever so slightly before she nodded her head once.

"Okay then. I… Heh, I don't know what to think about you Weiss but… I'm sorry, for what me and Yang did to you and Jauney-"

"Don't" Weiss cut in, continuing onwards when Nora turned to her with a frown. "You don't need to apologise, Nora. I am the one who needs to apologise and… well I am… I won't expect us to become friends, but I do hope you can forgive me for what I've done"

"I don't know all the stuff that's happened. Heck, I barely know what went on in Forever Fall or in Vale. So, it's not me you need to prove yourself to. Do what you said, be his friend and be there for him, but don't you _dare_ ever hurt him again. I lost family once, I won't lose them again. We'll come by later, need to go make sure Pyrrha is okay" with that she left, leaving the two of them staring at her retreating form.

* * *

One thought went through Pyrrha's mind as she was led away by her team, amidst her tears and wails she thought only one thing.

It was true that she couldn't stop her from being in the medical wing and by Jaune if she wished to be... she would have given anything for that to be different.

But she would be damned if she let that monster tear apart her partners heart once more.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Yang asked her, that red eyed glare fading as she placed hands on her shoulders, Weiss not realising how tense she'd become.

"I… Yes, I will be okay…" she muttered, picking up the tray once more, trying not to show her annoyance at the fact that the nuggets had gotten a little cold during her argument.

"Come on, I bet Rubes and Blake are bored stiff waiting for us" she smiled making to open the door, she knew Yang was still furious at Pyrrha for what she'd done, but this was something she could always appreciate about her blonde teammate, she always did her best to make sure everyone she cared about was looked after… funny… that was also what another certain blonde she knew did. Maybe it was genetic?

* * *

They watched as Pyrrha left, the heavy door closing shut, Ruby turned back to Blake, who seemed to have retreated further back into herself.

With a sigh, Ruby moved over and took her hands into hers, smiling at her when Blake gave a weak one of her own. "Blake, please talk to me. If there's something scaring you, or you did something you think we'll hate you for, I'm here to listen... Is... Is this secret part of why you're acting weird to Yang? You think she'll hate you and that's why you've been so against talking about this stuff?"

Blake shook her head, looking at Ruby with scared eyes... she wanted to make that look go away. "No... That's what I was talking about earlier, that I will talk to Yang about it... I... this may sound horrible but I trust her more than anyone and... and I think I might know why now. But you and Weiss? I'm terrified you'll hate me, _especially_ Weiss"

"But I don't think I've ever hated anyone! I mean, I once beat up a guy who broke Crescent Rose, but that guy actually became one of my friends at Signal!"

"This is different Ruby. I already told you, I'm... there's something about me that I can't tell you... I... I know you're a good person, but I trusted someone else with something like this before and... I just can't!" she growled, Ruby watching on in worry as she stood and made her way to the window, sitting on the ledge and drawing her knees up to her chest.

"C'mon Blake, it can't be that bad, right? I mean, are you a secret spy here to blow up Beacon?" she enquired, Blake's head whipping around the look at her incredulously.

"What?"

"Well, are you?" she asked, Blake's dumbfounded expression only growing.

"No…?"

"Okay, are you a super villain?"

"No!" she actually looked a little insulted at that.

"Have you ever gone out of your way to hurt people who didn't deserve it? Have you actually ever hurt someone who didn't do anything bad to you or people you care about?"

"…"

 _Heh, always works_ she smiled, slowly making her way back over to Blake. She knew Blake was probably gonna go on and on about how 'she was such a terrible person, you'll never understand, you'll hate me' if she tried to just tell her she wasn't a bad person, so Ruby did the next best thing. She asked if she was the weirdest and worst things she could think up on the fly, knowing Blake wouldn't be able to _not_ agree with her. It always worked on Yang when she used to get upset about accidentally using her semblance on people that messed with her or Ruby herself.

"See? So come on, please tell me. I promise I won't get mad. Heck, if I do, I promise to let you hide Crescent Rose and that's a Ruby promise" she grinned, trying to take influence from the guy bestie they'd moved slightly away from.

With a great sigh, Blake pulled her arms away from her face and gave her a pleading expression, one that made Ruby want to bury her in hugs to make her smile again, but she held herself back. This was a time for serious Ruby to take over.

"Do… Do you promise to not tell Weiss until I'm ready? I'll talk to Yang, I promise"

Ruby could only smile at her, this was good! Persistence for the win!

"'course! Like I said, you get to hide my baby if I react badly, so the same promise goes for if I tell Weiss before you and you know how much I love her"

"…Thank you…" she muttered, while it was quiet, Ruby could tell just how much her words meant to Blake. Ruby watched as Blake gathered herself and took in a deep breath. "Okay… Okay… I… heh, I'm a…" the last part was really mumbled, and Ruby didn't quite catch it.

"Sorry… I didn't really hear the last bit there" she admitted, a rosy tint growing in her cheeks when Blake sent her a mild glare.

"I'm a Faunus, Ruby"

Before Ruby could even begin to try and formulate a reply to the, frankly, shocking news, the clattering of metal and smashing of crockery snapped her attention to the door. Where a wide-eyed Weiss and Yang stood completely stock still and looking absolutely shocked beyond belief.

"Oh no…" was all she heard before she was bowled over as Blake charged past.

* * *

She had to run, she had to get away! This, oh gods this was not happening! She _finally_ found the courage to admit to her heritage and _this_ had to happen!? The _worst_ person in Beacon to let this secret slip to, had just found out!

She needed to run before they recovered, or she'd never get away.

In her haste to flee, she accidentally bowled over Ruby but couldn't stop to help her. She might be willing to listen to her and not react badly to this situation, but the others would.

Weiss had grown up having a deep-seated hatred of the White Fang and more than likely didn't see regular Faunus as any better. She wouldn't be able to see past her bias, no matter how close they'd grown as friends.

Yang...? She... she'd wanted this go so differently, she'd wanted to tell her when they were alone and where Yang would have time to process what she'd been told. But now? Now it was all ruined.

It was only when she tried to slip past the two shocked girls in the doorway, that she found herself halted. She didn't even get the chance to try and tug away before she was flung back into the room and came face to face with a terrifying sight.

It wasn't Yang who stood before her, no she was still in the doorway, confused eyes flicking between red and lilac at an ever-increasing speed.

No, it was Weiss, who sent a glare at her that was colder than the worst of the winter nights.

 _Oh gods, no… please no… I only wanted to start a new life…_

She knew what was coming, Weiss would have her thrown out of the school as an imposter, she would make her life a living hell for deceiving her!

"No" she growled, getting up in her face as Blake found herself frozen in fear. "No, you are _not_ allowed to run away! I am _tired_ , Blake. I have faced too much drama in these last few weeks to have to deal with even more with you running away!"

 _… What?_

"You're a Faunus? Fine! I am not going to pretend I am not angry at you for lying to us. In fact, I am downright, furious at you for deceiving us. I imagine the me from a couple weeks ago would have thought you some White Fang spy or something, but right now I am far too tired and mentally drained to even come up with such a ludicrous idea. Let me make myself clear; I do care that you hid your lineage from us, but I have found out recently to not judge a book by its' cover. So, to repair the trust you just broke between us and the entire team: myself, you, Ruby and Yang will retire to our room later so we can discuss this like _sane_ adults. If you can give fair and reasonable answers as to why you hid your lineage, which I suspect has something to do with _me_ , then we can begin to rebuild the bridges that have been burnt here today, just as you all did with me. Understand?"

No. No she did not. In fact, she was more confused than she'd been in her entire life.

That didn't stop her from dumbly nodding her head at the girl who looked like she could freeze hell itself with her withering glare alone.

"Good… heh… besides, I don't think _I'm_ the one you need to be worried about at the moment" she said, stepping aside to reveal an equally terrifying sight.

Where Weiss was cold as ice, she was hotter than fire.

Blood red eyes stared at her with glowing golden hair as the backdrop to frame the face of the enraged beast that was Yang Xiao Long. Before she could even say a word however, Weiss interrupted once more.

"NO" she stated with all the strength and command of a military officer that reminded Blake of days where she'd been trained herself by the older members of the Fang. "You are _not_ doing _that_ in here either. Go outside and argue to your hearts content but I imagine both Jaune and the staff in general have had enough of our team making all this racket. Am I understood?"

* * *

Weiss watched as the two girls stared at her dumbly before Yang did an abrupt about turn and marched out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her before it was meekly opened by a still stunned Blake who kept taking glances at her with the picture of confusion written across her face.

"You go too, Ruby. I imagine Blake will have a hard time explaining to Yang why she never told her, especially considering it is blatantly obvious there is _something_ going on between those two, even through all the tension we were dealing with, I could tell there was one hanging in the air with them"

"Eh?" came the reply of her red-faced partner, Weiss might have laughed at her innocence if she weren't so dead set on getting her out of the room.

"You and I both know that Yang Xiao Long is not someone who deals with events like this well, or do you not remember what happened when she found out you'd accidentally kissed a boy in Signal? Now go! Before we are cleaning our, apparently Faunus, teammate off the walls!"

The flurry of rose petals and the quickly opening and closing of the doors was all the confirmation she needed to know she could finally let her guard down as she slumped onto the bed, using it to muffle the scream she let out at the absurdity that was her life now.

"Urgh… Jaune, I think I'm in a mad house" she mumbled, knowing he would not reply but taking comfort in his being there, taking his hand in her own once more into her own.

"Thanks for quieting them down at least" came a croaky voice that made Weiss freeze in place. Even the rhythm in her chest seemed to stop for the barest moment at the sound.

No… No, it couldn't be… that wasn't possible, right? This… this was a ridiculous! It was only when she felt a large and warm hand squeeze her own, that she looked up.

Eyes the colour of the sea looked back at her, a warm smile on his face that invited one of her own. His skin was pale and slightly sweaty, that hoodie gone and replaced by bandages. But it was him.

"Jaune?" she asked, voice a whisper as she could scarcely believe the sight before her.

"Hey Weiss" he smiled.

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter folks, things are looking up, but certain things need to still be resolved. Don't worry though, the storm shall soon break and the lands of 'happy fun times' shall soon come into view. though, don't think Pyrrha has given up on her plans just yet. She isn't the kinda girl who just roles over and lets stuff happen. I'm not making her a bad person in this story. she feels completely and, to an extent, fairly justified in her hatred of Weiss and is hurting just as much as anyone else right now. how this ends up, however? Well you'll have to wait till next time.**

 **Didn't think this entire story was gonna be sad and heart-breaking, did you?**

 **Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go console a crying JourneysEnd1 who is insistent that she's not crying.**


	22. and now all the pain seems to go

_**EDITED**_

 **Elderfire1**

 **Heh… nearly there. Nearly there…**

 **JourneysEnd1**

 **C'mon! We can do it! the good times are a comin'!**

 **The Song Of Her Heart**

 **Chapter 20**

… **and now all the pain seems to go…**

She stared at him as he smiled at her, her own eyes refusing to believe what they were seeing... this... there was no way this was real... _right?_

"J-J... Jaune?" she whispered, gingerly reaching out her hand to touch his face, only for him to smile and gently take it from the air and give it a gentle squeeze.

"H-hey... Weiss" he replied hoarsely, that sweet smile on his face reminding her of a time when they were all so much happier...

She didn't care what the public thought of her in that moment. Nor her father, not even _Winter._ All she cared about at the moment was that _he. Was. Back!_

She launched herself at him, at least having the sense to avoid his wounds, and wrapped her arms around him, tears pouring down her face in relief. She felt his warmth permeate through her; his bare skin might have brought a flush to her face as she pressed her cheek to his neck.

"Weiss!?" his croaky and confused voice called to her; she could only reply with one thing. Something she'd been wanting to say for the longest time, something that _needed_ to be said after all that she'd done.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled, clutching onto his shoulders, her chest racking with sobs. "I-I'm so sorry… You're here because of me! You got hurt because of my stupid self… Why... why couldn't I just- oh gods… all the h-horrible things I said to, yet all you did w- _hic_ -was try to help me!" she snapped her head up and looked into his eyes… those kind eyes of his that just looked at her with worry.

She couldn't face them for long, how could she? She chose to instead bury her head on his shoulder once more. All the pain and self-hatred she'd been locking in came out, it burned throughout her body and made her want to beg for his forgiveness, but she had no right and she knew it.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she just kept repeating it, her words growing quieter and quieter with every repetition. Her body shook and shuddered against him; she knew she should have moved but she couldn't bring herself to. It was incredibly selfish of her, but she found being near him like this gave her the smallest bit of comfort.

She jolted ever so slightly when a hand laid itself over her back, her head snapped up and stared into those ocean blue orbs, a kind smile written across his face and worried eyes stared right into her own.

"Weiss… Please don't cry… You'll ruin your makeup" he said, a small chuckle coming from his throat, clearly amused at his humour… how could he smile and joke with her? How could he act like this after all that had happened?

"Wh-what?" she asked quietly, seeing that smile of his grow a little more at her confusion.

"Sorry… mom always said that you should always try to make a girl laugh when she's sad and well… you looked pretty sad" he admitted, shrugging his shoulders only to hiss in pain and give up on that. "But… well, I guess I kinda failed at that" he said, a melancholic look crossing his face for a brief moment before that easy smile came back.

 _He… that was the first… what?_ She stumbled through her own thoughts; how could he say that? How could he act so nonchalant after all that had happened? Why wasn't he at least annoyed with her!? It was…

"Hah… heheh- _hic -Hahah!"_ It was so, Jaune… she laughed, she laughed hard against him, it was all so ludicrous that it made sense for someone as logic defying as Jaune... "Heh… only you Jaune, only you"

"Well, guess I was wrong, I _did_ make you laugh" he joked, bringing a flush to her cheeks, when was the last time someone had ever brought a flush to her cheeks? Was she ever going to actually get to apologise to this dolt? Wouldn't he ever just let her apologise and try and begin to try and make amends? "Umm… Weiss?" he asked, sounding weirdly embarrassed, she tilted her head once more and looked at him.

Right at him.

His face mere inches from her own.

So close she could feel his breath touching her lips…

She jolted off of him in a panicked jump, launching herself off of his bed and landing in an awkward standing position.

"I'm sorry!" she yelped! _Yelped?_ Schnee's did not yelp!

"It's okay! It's… okay… heh… you're almost starting to sound like Pyrrha" he noted, Weiss gaping at him, feeling her annoyance bolt up and tell him _just_ what she thought of such a comparison, given how at odds the two of them were to each other at the moment. But then… then she saw the sad expression he had grown.

"Jaune?" she asked, she gingerly approached him, not entirely too sure as to how she should handle the situation.

"I… I heard what she said… I woke up when she k-kissed me and… I don't think you were in the room at the time but, but she… she told me that she loved me" he muttered, almost looking angry.

"She what?" she asked, something dark and venomous taking root inside of her, it spat poison at the thought of her admitting her love to him. She shouldn't have felt this way, she should have been happy that someone as kind and caring as Pyrrha wanted to be with Jaune. She _should_ have immediately backed off and let this small crush of hers flicker into nothingness… she shouldn't have felt such anger over the idea of Pyrrha _taking_ him. She must have done it before their argument, before her breakdown. Weiss knew that, despite their argument, that Pyrrha was not done. One thing that could always be said about Pyrrha Nikos was that she never gave up. She… she needed to get rid of these horrid emotions. It was up to Jaune who he chose to be with, be that Pyrrha or... herself… "I'm… Well I'm glad for you" she forced the words out of her mouth, glad she had years of experience of pretending to be happy.

"Well… it's not… I had to… Heh" he groaned, slapping a hand on his head, the machine checking his heart rate beginning to rise rapidly. "I don't wanna hurt her… You… You know how I feel" he admitted, Weiss' face flushing red at his comment. She _did_ know how he felt… which was why she felt so angry with herself.

"I… I don't know how to help… I'm sorry…" she really had nothing to say about the situation. Well, she did, but she needed to stamp down on those thoughts. She was trying to be a _better_ person and even thinking such words made her disgusted with herself.

"Hey, it's okay… Probably best I deal with this myself anyway, it'd make me a bit of a wuss if I asked people for what I should say instead of just manning up and dealing with it myself" he joked, though Weiss could see a hidden sadness behind his eyes… his mask wasn't as refined as her own and she could see through it as clear as glass. But, with a small shake of his head, that sadness disappeared and a smile came across his features. He looked around finally, a quizzical expression on his face. "Ummm… Weiss? Where am I?"

She blinked once. Twice. Three times.

Oh… of course he wouldn't have any memories of anything after he passed out and before he woke up, why would he? It wasn't like he could hear, see or even feel anything around him during the time he had spent in that hospital bed.

She mentally chided herself for not preparing herself to explain to him what had occurred in the past couple days, it would have made perfect sense! Ducking her head in shame, she spoke.

"You're right… I'm so sorry-"

"Weiss." He interrupted her, Weiss' eyes flying wide as she focused on him, his smile was still there but his eyes were sharp and focused, reminding her of a powerful and endless storm in the moment. "Please, you don't need to apologise, okay? I… I think there's been enough of that between you and me to last a lifetime…"

Once more she found herself blushing up a storm as he flashed her a smile. It was goofy, it was silly it was… oddly attractive… nevertheless, she found the way he said it filling her with hope. Was it possible then, that he might? That they could?

"Well… you're still right. Would... would you like the whole story or would you like a brief recap?" once more she felt like smacking her head in embarrassment. What was she, a secretary!?

"Heh, no need to be so formal" he joked. _Oum above, shoot me now._ "Probably best if I get the full story… my pain meds are making is kinda bearable to talk so better now than never"

"Okay then…" she took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the memories this would drag up… the screams, the pain and the torment this would drag up. "After you were… after you were _hurt_ , the rest of our teams arrived… I honestly don't remember much; I was apparently too busy… I was not in a fit state at the time…" she left it there, hoping he would do the same and let her collect herself and carry on, like any sensible person would have.

"Weiss? What's wrong?"

But of course, he didn't. It seemed Jaune Arc was the kind of person who went against the norm… funny how she found herself preferring it that way.

"I… I broke down, alright" the drums began to up their eternal beat once more, a veritable storm beginning to brew inside of her. "Jaune, I was a screaming mess… I thought you'd died in my arms! I-there was just so much blood, everywhere and it just kept coming. Nothing I did could help you, nothing I did could stop the bleeding. You were just there, lay in my arms with a peaceful expression on your face, your eyes shut and-oh gods I thought you were dead… A Bullhead arrived, and medics came and they picked you up, one of them trying to close your wounds even as they put you onto the stretcher. The entire time I couldn't stop screaming! The only thought running through my head was that you were- _hic-_ that you were dead" she broke down into sobs, feeling the weight of all her pain press down onto her. She'd caused all of this; it was all her own fault. She deserved this.

So, imagine her surprise when she felt a warm and large hand reach over and cup her own, pulling her close as another hand pressed her head to his shoulder, her tears halting for the briefest of moments as she took in the shock of what had just occurred.

"Please don't cry. Please don't cry anymore, Weiss" his soft voice whispered to her from its' place atop her head. "I don't want to see you cry anymore… I don't want to see you in pain anymore… I'm here, Weiss. I'm here, I'm alive, I'm safe and so are you…" he gently pulled her away, that kind smile of his only made more tears pour down her face, only for him to wipe them away with a weak thumb. "It's okay, Weiss. We're here. We're both safe. Focus on that, okay?"

She nodded, fighting to control her stupid sniffling and pained tears, the occasional sob breaking through as she tried to control herself and try to return that smile. It took a little while, but she found herself calming down under the gentle and tender words of Jaune, his gaze never wavering and his strong, yet gentle, grip on her never loosening. But eventually, she was able to take control of herself once more, releasing a long breath of air and nodding her head when he asked her if she was okay… how could he be so kind? So gentle and caring to someone like her? Oh… of course, because he was Jaune… how had it taken her so long to see this side of him?

 _ **Because you are an evil girl... because you don't deserve this, this kindness you could have had so long ago**_

Seemingly sensing her tension at the dark thoughts, his grip on her increased ever so slightly... almost as if he just wanted to take her into his warmth and keep her safe... to take away her pain...

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to" he told her, letting her move back to her seat, leaning back with a sigh and gently brushing a hand across one of the worse wounds, a melancholic look taking over his face.

"No… No, I think I need to. You asked me to tell you after all" she replied, thankful for his consideration. "After we were airlifted out of there, you and I were immediately brought to the infirmary. They had apparently operated on you in the Bullhead while I just sat in the corner of the ship crying my eyes out while another medic tried to console me. My next memory is of a doctor arriving to check on you and, to a latter extent, myself. I only had small cuts and lacerations to my legs so I was alright but you… you were in a coma Jaune"

"I stayed here, hoping you would wake up. Hoping you would open your eyes and smile at me, asking what was wrong… but you didn't…" she had to stop the breath, to try and control the raging thrum of noise thundering around her chest. This breathing hitched when his hand laid across her own, that same patient look he gave her filled her with the courage to go on. "My team arrived later on, Ruby doing a Ruby and instantly crushing me in a hug, the dolt near suffocating me"

"You love her, and you know it" he smiled, seemingly enjoying the small scowl she sent his way.

"Heh… You are being remarkably perceptive today, Arc" she pointed out, getting a simple 'meh' look from him. "But you are right… I do love her like the annoying little sister I never had… Yang and Blake were also there, the two of them joining the crush of bodies and letting me sob out my pain onto their clothes. They did there best to try and convince me that it wasn't my fault; what happened to you. Yang acting mature and motherly, holding me close and saying what she had to say with a certainty in her voice. Even Blake comforted me… in her own special way. They asked what had happened and I explained it all. How you and I worked rather well together and that you proved to be quite capable on your own… how we fought that monstrosity together. How… how you got hurt"

"… How are Ruby and Yang by the way?" he asked, his expression turning worried once more. Those eyes of his growing the tiniest bit dull and it sent raw panic straight through her soul.

She needed to get him talking again and quickly!

"The two of them are doing incredibly well, they were already acting like the best of friends when they first came to see me and there didn't seem to be any animosity between them anymore. The only real time one of them grew upset was... well… Blake revealed a secret to us, and… wait… you said you were awake since Pyrrha… _kissed_ you. Does that mean?" he gave her a meek and apologetic look, an embarrassed smile on his face again.

"About her being a Faunus? Yeah… sorry, I didn't mean to pry but it was kinda hard to not hear you guys talk when I was lying there. Don't worry I won't tell a soul, I promise and an Arc never goes back on his word" he said it with such conviction she imagined it would be better suited to a general about to go on a death charge against a horde of Grimm rather than a bedbound boy with a torn apart chest.

"Well that's good to hear... Yang did not take the news well, I imagine she was hurt her partner didn't tell her first or something akin to that" she gently moved her chair a little bit closer to Jaune, happy when he didn't show any sign of not wanting her to.

"I honestly dunno if you'll find them killing each other or setting up a date!" Weiss giggled at the exasperated sigh he let out, really, he was quite funny when he wasn't trying so hard. "I barely caught the tail end of her conversation with Ruby, but it sounds like Blake has a bad case of denial and Yang, who apparently has a _crush_ on her, has been pretty darn bad at dealing with it!... though who am I to judge on dealing with stuff well?" he admitted, scratching his nose lightly, only to pause when he felt the barely visible bump on his nose.

"Huh? Aw dang, that's gonna be annoying, just noticed I can't breathe properly through my nose!" he groaned, head falling against his pillow.

"Snrk!" it got out before she could catch it, her eyes shooting open and hand clamping around her mouth. Oh gods, he really had said it, she'd only been joking at the time, but he really _had_ said it!

The look of disbelief across his entire face shifted into a deadpan expression as he sunk his head deeper into the pillow. "Oh sure, laugh at the injured guy"

"S-heheh-Sorry… I know I shouldn't be laughing but it's just-what you said reminded me of something that made me laugh" she admitted, finding a small smile growing on his lips to be quite an enjoyable sight as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Heh… _anyway_ , now that the making fun of the cripple is out of the way-" she shot him a pointed look that he missed. "-what happened after all that?"

"Oh, well…" gods how did she explain she'd had yet another breakdown to a girl that made it clear that she… was not her biggest fan?

Honestly. That was how she did it. She couldn't be skirting around the issue anymore.

"Velvet… came by" she instantly saw as his eyes widened and he clearly was about to spout a string of questions as to what happened, she stopped him with a raised hand, she needed to say this once and only once… she didn't think she'd have the courage to say it again. "She came by and, naturally and honestly deservingly, was immediately angry at me. Furious would probably be the better word. She actually threatened to set her friend Coco Adel on me, I'm sure you two are acquainted"

"Coco? Oh, she's-"

"Jaune… please just let me talk, this is… it's honestly quite difficult to talk about" she stopped him, though she imagined he wanted to talk, he clearly understood her reasoning as he remained silent. "She… was not the happiest that I was around you, she made it clear that she wanted me gone. Honestly it was quite surprising, seeing such a sweet girl spit such venom. Venom I deserved" once again, he got an angry look on his face and made to contradict her. She shut that down with a glare. "When I made it clear that I wasn't going to leave we devolved into an intense argument which I tried to end when I made it clear that I would only stay until you woke up… then I would leave you alone, let you live a life free of me… she agreed, but she also made it clear that she… she knew it was my fault… all that had happened to you… it was all my fault, and I admitted it. I broke down into a screaming fit and just _agreed_ with her… it _is_ all my fault"

"Weiss-"

"Please Jaune, don-"

"No. No, Weiss I won't lie here and let you talk about yourself like that! You and I both know that we're both at fault here. I messed up just as much as you did! I dived onto that Ursa without a seconds thought… and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Do you hear me, Weiss Schnee? It's not your fault I got hurt. I got myself hurt. The fact it was to protect you isn't something I'll ever regret, you're safe and I'm alive. _That_ is what matters…" the sheer defiance and finite nature in which he said it, sent shivers down her spine… where had this come from? Despite his refusal to let her blame herself for what she'd done, she knew what she'd done. She knew what she'd said.

"I… I told you to… Jaune you know what I said, how can you even bare to look at me? Why don't you hate me? Please… it's tearing me apart" it truly was, she knew she wanted to become his friend if given the chance, but she needed to know why he wasn't yelling at her to leave, why he wasn't shouting for a nurse to remove her. Why he'd… Why he'd said that he…

"I… I know" he admitted, Weiss feeling her heart tighten as a brief look of anger crossed his face. Then… with a gentle sigh he lost it and looked at her, that smile lost, but a kindness was present in his eyes. "I can't forgive you for that, not right now at least. What you said was horrible, no one should _ever_ have that said to them, I won't try and deny it… but… I guess I just can't bring myself to be angry at you for it. I can't hate you, no matter how much you think you deserve it. You're hurting Weiss, really badly, and I can see that clear as day and that proves to me that you feel guilty about it. When I look back to all the times I saw you after the whole 'thing' in the lunchroom, I remember how sad you looked, how in pain you looked… I didn't help that, Weiss. I made it worse. I hurt you so much worse than you did me, I made you suffer because I was too much of a coward to talk to you again. I chose to run away and pretend I hadn't, letting you hurt worse than I was…" a small tear trickled down his face, he wiped it away accompanied by a sniffle and looked back up at her with a tired smile. "I'm done hurting people Weiss. I'm done letting people get hurt because of me. I'm not going to ever let that happen again. So please… Please stop putting all the blame on yourself. We both messed up. We're both to blame for what happened and I won't let you hurt yourself by convincing yourself you're this horrible monster who doesn't deserve kindness"

At his words, silence reigned, neither of them able to bring themselves to speak for worry they might shatter this calm aura that had surrounded them. What could they say anyway? Both of their words carried all the pain and suffering they had endured and she knew that if she even dared to try and explain that she had done more terrible things to him and he had to her, she knew he would shut her down and make it clear he was not going to let her take more than what he perceived as her fair share of the fault… so, with this news in mind, she finally had an answer.

"Okay… I'll-I'll try and stop blaming myself, at the very least to try and prove how sorry I truly am for what you will _allow_ me to take the blame for" she didn't know why she tried to slip some humour in at the end there, yet the small but very true laugh that emanated from Jaune made it all worth it to her.

"Sounds good to me, Weiss, I'll do the same and if I start blaming myself for everything you have free reign to smack me on the head" she had to stifle the giggle that escaped her lips, feeling guilty for laughing in such a situation, but he clearly wanted her to so… she would allow it. "… So, what happened with the whole Velvet thing?"

"Funny thing. She hugged me. She embraced me mid scream and, when I asked her why she was doing it, she simply told me that she didn't know. That she didn't know, that she wasn't sure what she was doing but… Well, she effectively said what you did. She couldn't find it in herself to hate me and that she knew you wouldn't forgive her if she just threw me out of the room and left me to suffer. She said she would give me a chance to prove myself, to both you and her, that I was sorry, that I deserved your kindness and forgiveness… and I will not rest until I do. I made a start of it by apologising to her about what I said to her. It was cruel and unjust, and she deserved better. You have an incredible friend in her, Jaune" she meant every word of it. That girl was proof that good and kind people existed, and they could give even people like _herself_ a chance.

 _You promised to stop putting all the blame on yourself_ her mind reminded her, Weiss wincing as she realised her slip up.

"Yeah… I really do, don't I?" he smiled, though it was betrayed by that dullness that reappeared in his eyes.

"Jaune?" she asked worriedly, reaching forward and resting a hand near his own. This seemed to snap him out of his trance, looking at her, that dullness evaporated, and he shook his head, that small smile coming back in full.

"Sorry… got lost in my own thoughts there" he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and nervously laughed, Weiss rolling her eyes and sighing in relief.

"Do I dare ask?" she enquired, trying to make him laugh once more, finding she much preferred him to be laughing right now than anything else.

He didn't, though a smile was cracked, instead he asked her a question that made her heart skip a beat.

"Well… not gonna lie, even though I'm really happy about it… Weiss, how did I survive that Ursa's hit?" the question was innocent enough, Jaune was naturally curious as to how he survived an attack that would surely have been fatal had it been no one else. The problem was, however, that Weiss had forgotten in amongst her joy that he was awake and the pain of digging up such painful memories to tell Jaune something that would more than likely shock him to his very core and make the young man yell to the heavens in joy. She had simply forgotten.

"Oh gods, I forgot!" she yelled in absolute dread as her eyes snapped to a startled and utterly confused looking Jaune Arc. "Jaune! You… You unlocked your semblance!"

It was slow at first, his eyes widening, mouth opening and the corners lifting up ever so slightly, his hands twitching upwards until, with a veritable scream of joy, he yelled "YES!" slamming his arms upwards in celebration but instantly regretted it as his wounds were stressed and his eyes snapped shut, letting out a grunt of pain.

"Jaune! Are you okay!?" she was at his side in a heartbeat, hands fluttering over his form. She wanted to hold him, but her own nerves of stepping over an unseen boundary stopped her in her tracks. Unable to do more than hover over him with a tortured expression.

"Heheh…" he simply replied, his laughter confusing her, though not as much as when he looked at her with teary eyes and an incredibly large smile. "Yeah, I'm just so happy… so happy"

"Oh… Well… I… Heh, you make no sense, Arc" she murmured, shaking her head at his antics. "But yes, Headmaster Ozpin stopped by and spoke to me about how I was doing and asking some… questions pertaining to you" she was not going to go into her own mild worry as to the way the Headmaster had spoken about him, almost like he saw him as… as a tool. "We discussed what I saw and what he theorised, Jaune we think you may have an incredibly potent healing semblance. We think you subcontiously activated it in your drive to survive and kill that… _monstrosity_ , but due to how low your aura was, it could only do so much. Leaving you in… the state that you were" her gut twisted at the memory, so much blood… the life fading from his eyes… her screams for him to stay with her…

"-right" Jaune mumbled, Weiss being risen from those dark memories by his voice. He seemed to notice her confused expression and smiled at her once more. "Sorry, speaking to myself again" he laughed. "That's awesome! Is… is it just to me or do you think I can help others with it?" he asked, hope in his voice.

"Actually, Headmaster Ozpin seems to think it is and I can't help but agree. Semblances that directly affect the human body often have a higher chance of being able to transferable to other people, such as my Glyphs that I can use to enhance allies or debilitate foes. Plus… It has come to my attention that you are a rather kind and generous person… I subscribe to the idea that a person can influence their semblance so I can imagine it is highly likely that your semblance can help people, given your nature… using your aura to save others… risking your own life in the meantime" her eyes were once more drawn to his wounds, watching one of the deeper gashes had bled a little due to his celebration.

"Remember what I said, Weiss. I did that because I _wanted_ to. I wanted to save you and I did. I don't regret ever doing it, Weiss. The fact you're alive right now is proof to me that I did the right thing. Don't ever forget that, alright?"

His hand found hers and Weiss was forced to hold back a deep blush at his touch, constantly reminding herself that she wasn't sure if they could be even considered friends at the moment. They were two survivors discussing what had happened recently, one filling the other in on such events as they were unable to experience them for themselves.

"Yes… Yes, you're right. You seem to be right quite consistently as of late" she had been meaning to say what she said next, she'd just been waiting for the right time and now seemed better than any other, she just hadn't been all too prepared for her mouth to just spill it out the way it did. "Jaune? I… what are we to each other at the moment? I… I know how you feel but… I'm afraid I can't return your feelings and that hurts me because I want to get to know you. To know the young man that I misjudged so terribly. I want to be your friend. I want to prove to you that I am so very sorry and start anew with you… A fresh start where we try and move past the horrible events that occurred between us… if it hurts you too much that I can't return your feelings-" _at the moment_ her evil mind decided to chip in. "-or you think we cannot move past what has happened between us and wish to get rid of those feelings entirely, then… then I understand and I will take my leave. I won't bother you again and wish you a happy life that brings you all the joy you could ever want"

There. She'd done it. She'd bared her heart to him and now he could make it clear he couldn't be friends with her if she couldn't return his feelings and move on and forget his feelings towards her… that was what was for the best, her own feelings did not matter. The fact her heart felt like it was going to shatter with every second of silence that filled the room was irrelevant. The screaming cacophony of sound inside her chest was for some other reason… she… she _wanted_ him to… to say he couldn't be with h-

"It's okay, I understand, Weiss" teary eyes looked at him in shock, she didn't even care at the moment that he was seeing her in such a terrible state. Had… had she heard him right? That-that… what? "I get it, it's not like you'll feel the way I do about you just because I confessed to you, that stuff only happens in corny books and bad movies. It… it hurts, I won't even try and pretend it doesn't, but hey, I guess I can try and get over it…" she very nearly cast aside her nervousness at crossing a boundary to take him into her arms, aversion to doing such things too often be damned, to try and take away the sad smile on his face. He beat her to it though, sniffling away any tears he might have shed and put on a brave face for her. Funny, his mask seemed all the more real now. The pain was there, and she could tell he was feeling it, but he was choosing to smile and focus on her instead. "But… I think I'd like to try and… and maybe get to know you better as well… maybe, given enough time, maybe we _can_ be friends"

Warmth.

A weight lifted.

These were the two things Weiss Schnee felt the moment he spoke those words, a subtle, gentle heat emanating just under her breast and spreading forth throughout her entire body. It was like being enveloped in the warm glow of a fire and she didn't think she could get enough of it.

The lifting of a weight that had been plaguing her for some time was another very welcome experience. It wasn't all gone, the main bulk of it was still there, but she could feel the smallest amount had disappeared. Enough to make her allow the faintest glimmer of hope to enter her chest as she smiled and nodded at him. A tender little thing that he returned in full.

"WEISS!" Ruby yelled, appearing in the doorway in a burst of rose petals and the slamming of the door into the wall, no doubt damaging the surface with the force with which it was opened.

"Ruby!?" she screeched, jumping out of her chair in fright of the sudden noise. "What are you doing!? Do you have _any_ idea how much you… Ruby? What's wrong?" Tears spilled down the young Rose' cheeks, her entire body shaking as she tried to keep herself upright, wiping her sleeve across her cheeks to try and rid herself of them.

Weiss was there in an instant, taking a hold of her partner and friends' shoulders and steadying her, trying something she had heard about, rubbing her shoulders in small circles and giving the girl the option to seek an embrace if she wanted one. She was usually adverse to a 'Ruby hug', but she couldn't care one bit as she looked on in worry at her friend.

There was so much pain in her eyes as she tried to speak, Weiss never having seen the girl in such a state. What had happened to cause such a reaction from her?

"Y-Yang… B-Blake" she stuttered, hiccupping once or twice as she got the two names past her lips.

Instantly, Weiss was filled with anger, what had those two ingrates done to cause Ruby to cry? She would find out and deliver the most heinous punishment she could muster for making the girl she could very easily call her best friend cry. Yang was the older sister here! She should have known better!

"Blake… she… she left…"

That anger was extinguished as soon as it had begun… Blake was… gone? But… Why? Why would she leave? It made no sense…

"Ruby… Ruby, I need you to try and calm down and explain what happened, alright"

She nodded, sniffling helplessly as her sinuses failed to hold steady, quick as she could, Weiss fetched her a box of tissues and the reaper vigorously blew her nose and removed as many tears as she could possibly get.

It was in this moment where her eyes were clear, that Ruby seemed to finally take in the fact that the third occupant in the room was also looking at her in extreme worry and confusion. That they were _able_ to look at her at all.

"…Jaune?"

"Hey Rubes, what's wrong?"

She was on him in an instant, burying herself into his side and wailing onto his shoulder, small hands clutching onto the sheets as her body was racked with sobs.

" _Jaaaauuneeee! I… I m-hic-missed you…!"_

Weiss smiled at the sight of it, the caring and brotherly smile of Jaune as he held her close, whispering gently into her hair and pulling her tighter when her sobs reached a new height.

She did though, notice Ruby had dropped what appeared to be Yang's scroll with what appeared to be a message from the raven haired girl on everyone's mind right now.

In confusion she lifted it up to read it and felt her blood freeze.

 _Yang,_

 _I'm so sorry... sorry that I lied to you, to the team... I know that you hate me, you must_ despise _me right now for lying to you..._

 _Which is why I need to be honest with you, if only so I can finally stop all the lying seeing as I doubt you'll ever want to see me again._

 _I am a former member of the White Fang, I was involved with them for an incredibly long time, you could say I was born into them._

 _The reason I didn't tell you was… was because I know what the public opinion of them is and that I was scared... scared of what you'd say or do, based on what the news tells people about them, but in my heart I know they're not the monsters people say they are. They can't be the ones behind the dust heists and attacking shops like people are saying they are, they just can't be... so I'm going to find out who the real culprits are and bring them to justice. I'm doing this in hopes I can find forgiveness from the team, but most importantly you. You've become an important person in my life, Yang, and I hope this will give you reason to trust me again... I doubt you'll even want to be near someone who was once part of a group people consider terrorists, but please don't follow me, I need to do this alone... goodbye Yang._

The scroll fell to the floor, the world seeming to go oh so quiet as two words raced through her mind.

 _White Fang?_

A bloodied intern screaming for help before being beheaded on camera by a laughing Faunus.

 _White Fang?_

A little boy lying face down in his own blood as well as his fathers, the two of them gunned down in a hostage swap gone wrong.

 _ **White Fang?**_

The maid she'd come to think of a second mother coming at her with a knife, a manic grin on her face as she called for her to come closer, to give mother a hug. Then, a bullet ripping through her skull as her sister shakily held a rifle in her hands.

"Weiss?" Weiss lurched away from the voice and the hand that touched her, to find Jaune staring at her. He had apparently chosen to force himself to stand up, a meek Ruby watching her from behind him. His body was covered in bandages, ones she hadn't seen before were now revealed to her, just showing how long and deep those cuts had been. His one arm leaked the smallest amount of blood from where he'd removed the needle from it. His body towered over hers, easily over a head taller than her and making her feel oh so small at this range. She noticed the scroll in his own hand, a frown crossing his face briefly before he dropped it and looked at her once more. Warm, large and tender hands wrapped around her own, bringing them up and cupping them together in a soothing manner, his thumbs rubbing little circles onto the back of her hands. "It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be frightened of the unknown because well… that's a natural reaction. But… can you please do one thing for me?"

She wordlessly nodded at him, unable to do much more than that.

"You told me you want to prove to me how sorry you are, that you're a different person than before… yeah?" she nodded again, though this time much more vigorously, lifting her frozen eyes to stare into the storm of blue. "Then please… please do the right thing. Okay?"

What was she supposed to say to such a thing? What was she supposed to think at such news?

He backed away without a word, letting Ruby approach her, a nervous expression.

"Weiss… I know you haven't exactly got the best opinion of the White Fang right now, or Blake to be honest, but please… Please don't hate he-"

Weiss had her answer.

"Ruby, go get Crescent Rose. We've got an errant teammate to find" the complete befuddlement on Ruby's face made her sigh as she practically pushed the young reaper to the door, Ruby babbling incoherent words the entire time.

Just before she left, he called to her once more and Weiss turned her head ever so slightly to catch sight of Jaune, smiling at her.

"I'm proud of you Weiss"

She quickly turned her head to hide her cheeks, muttering a quick thank you to him before she quickly opened the door to find the red eyed Yang Xiao Long looking like she was ready to bring down her wrath onto the entire world.

"I imagine you are going to also ignore the idiot's idea that she has to do this alone?" she enquired, raising an eyebrow at Yang.

"Do you even have to ask?" she growled, deploying her wrist gauntlets and checking the ammunition count. "Let's go teach that stupid, fucking cat that you don't get to pull this crap and get away with it"

"I couldn't have put it better myself"

She briefly heard the screech of a nurse who started yelling at Jaune to get back into bed, saying he was lucky to be alive but wouldn't be if he just started walking around with a torn up chest! She couldn't stop though. She had to find Blake. And teach her that lying to her team, and then running away would bring down dire punishment.

 **Oh my god this was** _ **way**_ **too difficult to write!**

 **Anyway, hope the chapter was good folks and, for those who enjoy it, the next chapter is you little instalment of Bumblebee!**


	23. Editing update

_**THE FINAL EDIT IS DONE, HAHA!**_

 _ **Expect an ACTUAL update very soon folks!**_


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